Benchmarking motion planning algorithms for bin-picking applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iversen, Thomas Fridolin; Ellekilde, Lars-Peter

2017-01-01

Purpose For robot motion planning there exists a large number of different algorithms, each appropriate for a certain domain, and the right choice of planner depends on the specific use case. The purpose of this paper is to consider the application of bin picking and benchmark a set of motion...... planning algorithms to identify which are most suited in the given context. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a selection of motion planning algorithms and defines benchmarks based on three different bin-picking scenarios. The evaluation is done based on a fixed set of tasks, which are planned...... and executed on a real and a simulated robot. Findings The benchmarking shows a clear difference between the planners and generally indicates that algorithms integrating optimization, despite longer planning time, perform better due to a faster execution. Originality/value The originality of this work lies...

Applying virtual reality to remote control of mobile robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Chin-Shan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is based on virtual reality to assisted pick and place tasks. Virtual reality can be utilized to control remote robot for pick and place element. The operator monitored and controlled the situation information of working site by Human Machine Interface. Therefore, we worked in harsh or dangerous environments that thing can be avoided. The procedure to operate mobile robot in virtual reality describes as follow: An experiment site with really experimental equipment is first established. Then, the experimental equipment and scene modeling are input to virtual reality for establishing a environment similar to the reality. Finally, the remote mobile robot is controlled to operate pick and place tasks through wireless communication by the object operation in virtual reality. The robot consists of a movable robot platform and robotic arm. The virtual reality is constructed by EON software; the Human Machine Interface is established by Visual Basic. The wireless connection is equipped the wireless Bluetooth, which is set the PC and PLC controller. With experimental tests to verify the robot in virtual reality and the wireless remote control, the robot could be operated and controlled to successfully complete pick and place tasks in reality by Human Machine Interface.

Analysis on picking plant sequence and route of transplanting robotic for column cultivation%面向立柱栽培的机器人移栽苗序与路径分析

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

刘继展; 刘炜; 毛罕平; 李萍萍

2014-01-01

为有效提高穴盘苗向立柱自动移栽的作业效率，以自主开发的螺旋式栽培立柱及其配套移栽机器人系统为对象，进行了无碰撞最短路径设计，进而对不同取苗-栽植方案的路径长度差异及其影响因素进行了分析。研究表明，面向立柱移栽时，单穴盘对1 m立柱移栽的累计路径长度差异在25%以上。取苗顺序对路径长度具有重要影响，其中“让苗”现象是造成累计路径长度差异的主要因素。立柱栽植顺序对路径长度的影响随立柱高度增加而显著增大，对3 m立柱移栽时16类取苗方案的自上至下植苗平均累计路径长度比自下至上高9.83%。稳定最优方案分别为最近相邻法和近端开始同向逐行或逐列取苗、自下至上栽植方案。研究成果对实现高效的立柱自动移栽具有积极意义。%Column cultivation is a promising high-yield mode in protected agriculture which has been studied and developed for several years. However, its extreme difficulty of manual management has hindered its popularization and application. As a result, an automatic operation of seedling transplanting to column was put forward. A new-type spiral cultivation column and matched seedling transplanting robot that was composed of rail-mounted autonomous vehicle, slide-arm type manipulator, double-needle electromagnet-driven end-effector, and a turning seedling supply device was developed. In view of the frequently repetitive operation of robotic seedling transplanting with changing starting and ending points of routes, the optimal design of a pick-plant sequence and non-collision shortest routing are essential to improving the success rate and efficiency. In robotic seedling transplanting, the route of a manipulator's ending is usually composed of picking an up-down route, a plant up-down route, and a transport route from pick top-point to plant top-point. For column cultivation, the transport route is quite

A cargo-sorting DNA robot.

Science.gov (United States)

Thubagere, Anupama J; Li, Wei; Johnson, Robert F; Chen, Zibo; Doroudi, Shayan; Lee, Yae Lim; Izatt, Gregory; Wittman, Sarah; Srinivas, Niranjan; Woods, Damien; Winfree, Erik; Qian, Lulu

2017-09-15

Two critical challenges in the design and synthesis of molecular robots are modularity and algorithm simplicity. We demonstrate three modular building blocks for a DNA robot that performs cargo sorting at the molecular level. A simple algorithm encoding recognition between cargos and their destinations allows for a simple robot design: a single-stranded DNA with one leg and two foot domains for walking, and one arm and one hand domain for picking up and dropping off cargos. The robot explores a two-dimensional testing ground on the surface of DNA origami, picks up multiple cargos of two types that are initially at unordered locations, and delivers them to specified destinations until all molecules are sorted into two distinct piles. The robot is designed to perform a random walk without any energy supply. Exploiting this feature, a single robot can repeatedly sort multiple cargos. Localization on DNA origami allows for distinct cargo-sorting tasks to take place simultaneously in one test tube or for multiple robots to collectively perform the same task. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Feeding behavior and digestive physiology in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Jiamin; Zhang, Libin; Pan, Yang; Lin, Chenggang; Wang, Fang; Kan, Rentao; Yang, Hongsheng

2015-02-01

The feeding behavior and digestive physiology of the sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus are not well understood. A better understanding may provide useful information for the development of the aquaculture of this species. In this article the tentacle locomotion, feeding rhythms, ingestion rate (IR), feces production rate (FPR) and digestive enzyme activities were studied in three size groups (small, medium and large) of sea cucumber under a 12h light/12h dark cycle. Frame-by-frame video analysis revealed that all size groups had similar feeding strategies using a grasping motion to pick up sediment particles. The tentacle insertion rates of the large size group were significantly faster than those of the small and medium-sized groups (Psea cucumber were nocturnal and their feeding peaks occurred at 02:00-04:00. The medium and large-sized groups also had a second feeding peak during the day. Both IR and FPR in all groups were significantly higher at night than those during the daytime (P<0.05). Additionally, the peak activities of digestive enzymes were 2-4h earlier than the peak of feeding. Taken together, these results demonstrated that the light/dark cycle was a powerful environment factor that influenced biological rhythms of A. japonicus, which had the ability to optimize the digestive processes for a forthcoming ingestion. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

QTL mapping in multiple populations and development stages reveals dynamic quantitative trait loci for fruit size in cucumbers of different market classes.

Science.gov (United States)

Weng, Yiqun; Colle, Marivi; Wang, Yuhui; Yang, Luming; Rubinstein, Mor; Sherman, Amir; Ophir, Ron; Grumet, Rebecca

2015-09-01

QTL analysis in multi-development stages with different QTL models identified 12 consensus QTLs underlying fruit elongation and radial growth presenting a dynamic view of genetic control of cucumber fruit development. Fruit size is an important quality trait in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) of different market classes. However, the genetic and molecular basis of fruit size variations in cucumber is not well understood. In this study, we conducted QTL mapping of fruit size in cucumber using F2, F2-derived F3 families and recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a cross between two inbred lines Gy14 (North American picking cucumber) and 9930 (North China fresh market cucumber). Phenotypic data of fruit length and diameter were collected at three development stages (anthesis, immature and mature fruits) in six environments over 4 years. QTL analysis was performed with three QTL models including composite interval mapping (CIM), Bayesian interval mapping (BIM), and multiple QTL mapping (MQM). Twenty-nine consistent and distinct QTLs were detected for nine traits from multiple mapping populations and QTL models. Synthesis of information from available fruit size QTLs allowed establishment of 12 consensus QTLs underlying fruit elongation and radial growth, which presented a dynamic view of genetic control of cucumber fruit development. Results from this study highlighted the benefits of QTL analysis with multiple QTL models and different mapping populations in improving the power of QTL detection. Discussion was presented in the context of domestication and diversifying selection of fruit length and diameter, marker-assisted selection of fruit size, as well as identification of candidate genes for fruit size QTLs in cucumber.

Using Robot Skills for Flexible Reprogramming of Pick Operations in Industrial Scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Rasmus S.; Nalpantidis, Lazaros; Krüger, Volker

2014-01-01

objects on tabletops and pick them up in a user-specified manner. The programming itself is primarily done through kinesthetic teaching. We show that the skill has robustness towards the location and shape of the object to pick, and that objects from a real industrial production line can be handled. Also......, preliminary tests indicate that non-expert users can learn to use the skill after only a short introduction....

Exploring the role of picker personality in predicting picking performance with pick by voice, pick to light and RF-terminal picking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Vries, J.; de Koster, R.; Stam, D.

2016-01-01

Order pickers and individual differences between them could have a substantial impact on picking performance, but are largely ignored in studies on order picking. This paper explores the role of individual differences in picking performance with various picking tools (pick by voice, RF-terminal

Grasp Algorithms For Optotactile Robotic Sample Acquisition, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Robotic sample acquisition is basically grasping. Multi-finger robot sample grasping devices are controlled to securely pick up samples. While optimal grasps for...

Green Grape Detection and Picking-Point Calculation in a Night-Time Natural Environment Using a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD Vision Sensor with Artificial Illumination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juntao Xiong

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Night-time fruit-picking technology is important to picking robots. This paper proposes a method of night-time detection and picking-point positioning for green grape-picking robots to solve the difficult problem of green grape detection and picking in night-time conditions with artificial lighting systems. Taking a representative green grape named Centennial Seedless as the research object, daytime and night-time grape images were captured by a custom-designed visual system. Detection was conducted employing the following steps: (1 The RGB (red, green and blue. Color model was determined for night-time green grape detection through analysis of color features of grape images under daytime natural light and night-time artificial lighting. The R component of the RGB color model was rotated and the image resolution was compressed; (2 The improved Chan–Vese (C–V level set model and morphological processing method were used to remove the background of the image, leaving out the grape fruit; (3 Based on the character of grape vertical suspension, combining the principle of the minimum circumscribed rectangle of fruit and the Hough straight line detection method, straight-line fitting for the fruit stem was conducted and the picking point was calculated using the stem with an angle of fitting line and vertical line less than 15°. The visual detection experiment results showed that the accuracy of grape fruit detection was 91.67% and the average running time of the proposed algorithm was 0.46 s. The picking-point calculation experiment results showed that the highest accuracy for the picking-point calculation was 92.5%, while the lowest was 80%. The results demonstrate that the proposed method of night-time green grape detection and picking-point calculation can provide technical support to the grape-picking robots.

Cucumber cookbook

CERN Document Server

Garg, Shankar

2015-01-01

This book is intended for business and development personnel who want to use Cucumber for behavior-driven development and test automation. Readers with some familiarity with Cucumber will find this book of most benefit. Since the main objective of this book is to create test automation frameworks, previous experience in automation will be helpful.

Clean-room robot implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comeau, J.L.

1982-01-01

A robot has been incorporated in a clean room operation in which vacuum tube parts are cleaned just prior to final assembly with a 60 lb/in 2 blast of argon gas. The robot is programmed to pick up the parts, manipulate/rotate them as necessary in the jet pattern and deposit them in a tray precleaned by the robot. A carefully studied implementation plan was followed in the procurement, installation, modification and programming of the robot facility. An unusual configuration of one tube part required a unique gripper design. A study indicated that the tube parts processed by the robot are 12% cleaner than those manually cleaned by an experienced operator

Cherry Picking Robot Vision Recognition System Based on OpenCV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Qi Rong

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Through OpenCV function, the cherry in a natural environment image after image preprocessing, color recognition, threshold segmentation, morphological filtering, edge detection, circle Hough transform, you can draw the cherry’s center and circular contour, to carry out the purpose of the machine picking. The system is simple and effective.

Design and Implementation of Fire Extinguisher Robot with Robotic Arm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Memon Abdul Waris

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Robot is a device, which performs human task or behave like a human-being. It needs expertise skills and complex programming to design. For designing a fire fighter robot, many sensors and motors were used. User firstly send robot to an affected area, to get live image of the field with the help of mobile camera via Wi-Fi using IP camera application to laptop. If any signs of fire shown in image, user direct robot in that particular direction for confirmation. Fire sensor and temperature sensor detects and measures the reading, after confirmation robot sprinkle water on affected field. During extinguish process if any obstacle comes in between the prototype and the affected area the ultrasonic sensor detects the obstacle, in response the robotic arm moves to pick and place that obstacle to another location for clearing the path. Meanwhile if any poisonous gas is present, the gas sensor detects and indicates by making alarm.

Spontaneous polyploidization in cucumber.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramírez-Madera, Axel O; Miller, Nathan D; Spalding, Edgar P; Weng, Yiqun; Havey, Michael J

2017-07-01

This is the first quantitative estimation of spontaneous polyploidy in cucumber and we detected 2.2% polyploids in a greenhouse study. We provide evidence that polyploidization is consistent with endoreduplication and is an on-going process during plant growth. Cucumber occasionally produces polyploid plants, which are problematic for growers because these plants produce misshaped fruits with non-viable seeds. In this study, we undertook the first quantitative study to estimate the relative frequency of spontaneous polyploids in cucumber. Seeds of recombinant inbred lines were produced in different environments, plants were grown in the field and greenhouse, and flow cytometry was used to establish ploidies. From 1422 greenhouse-grown plants, the overall relative frequency of spontaneous polyploidy was 2.2%. Plants possessed nuclei of different ploidies in the same leaves (mosaic) and on different parts of the same plant (chimeric). Our results provide evidence of endoreduplication and polysomaty in cucumber, and that it is an on-going and dynamic process. There was a significant effect (p = 0.018) of seed production environment on the occurrence of polyploid plants. Seed and seedling traits were not accurate predictors of eventual polyploids, and we recommend that cucumber producers rogue plants based on stature and leaf serration to remove potential polyploids.

Robotic Hand with Flexible Fingers for Grasping Cylindrical Objects

OpenAIRE

柴田, 瑞穂

2015-01-01

In this manuscript, a robotic hand for grasping a cylindrical object is proposed. This robotic hand has flexible fingers that can hold a cylindrical object during moving. We introduce a grasping strategy for a cylindrical object in terms of state transition graph. In this strategy the robotic hand picks up the cylindrical object utilizing a suction device before the hand grasp the object. We also design the flexible fingers; then, we investigate the validity of this robotic hand via several e...

Making the Right Pick: Aligning Order Picking Methods, Incentive Systems and Regulatory Focus to Increase Picking Performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. de Vries (Jelle); M.B.M. de Koster (René); D.A. Stam (Daan)

2015-01-01

textabstractA unique controlled field experiment investigates order picking performance (in terms of productivity, quality, and job satisfaction). We examined three manual picker-to-parts order picking methods (parallel, zone, and dynamic zone picking) under two different incentive systems

Advanced robot locomotion.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neely, Jason C.; Sturgis, Beverly Rainwater; Byrne, Raymond Harry; Feddema, John Todd; Spletzer, Barry Louis; Rose, Scott E.; Novick, David Keith; Wilson, David Gerald; Buerger, Stephen P.

2007-01-01

This report contains the results of a research effort on advanced robot locomotion. The majority of this work focuses on walking robots. Walking robot applications include delivery of special payloads to unique locations that require human locomotion to exo-skeleton human assistance applications. A walking robot could step over obstacles and move through narrow openings that a wheeled or tracked vehicle could not overcome. It could pick up and manipulate objects in ways that a standard robot gripper could not. Most importantly, a walking robot would be able to rapidly perform these tasks through an intuitive user interface that mimics natural human motion. The largest obstacle arises in emulating stability and balance control naturally present in humans but needed for bipedal locomotion in a robot. A tracked robot is bulky and limited, but a wide wheel base assures passive stability. Human bipedal motion is so common that it is taken for granted, but bipedal motion requires active balance and stability control for which the analysis is non-trivial. This report contains an extensive literature study on the state-of-the-art of legged robotics, and it additionally provides the analysis, simulation, and hardware verification of two variants of a proto-type leg design.

Pick disease

Science.gov (United States)

Semantic dementia; Dementia - semantic; Frontotemporal dementia; FTD; Arnold Pick disease; 3R tauopathy ... doctors tell Pick disease apart from Alzheimer disease. (Memory loss is often the main, and earliest, symptom ...

Skin Picking Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pinar Cetinay Aydin

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Skin picking disorder is not a dermatological disorder and it is a table characterized with picking skin excessively and repetitively, leading to damage in skin tissue. Unlike normal picking behaviour, psychogenic skin picking is repetitive and it can lead to severe damage in the skin and even complications which constitute vital danger. While some patients define frequent but short lasting picking attacks, others define rarer attacks which last a few hours. Skin picking disorder, which is not included in the classification systems up to DSM-5 as a separate diagnosis category, is included as an independent diagnosis in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Associated Disorders category in DSM-5. In case reports, open label studies and double blind studies selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are shown to be effective in the treatment of skin picking disorder. Mostly, cognitive-behaviourial techniques are used and have been proven to be useful in psychotherapy. Habit reversal is one of the behaviourial techniques which are frequently applied, give positive results in which well-being state can be maintained. [Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry 2014; 6(4.000: 401-428

Genetic architecture of downy mildew resistance in cucumber

Science.gov (United States)

Downy mildew (DM) caused by the obligate oomycete Pseudoperonospora cubensis is the most devastating fungal disease to cucumber production. The molecular mechanism of DM resistance in cucumber is not well understood. We conducted QTL mapping for DM resistances in four cucumber lines including WI7120...

Phytochemical and therapeutic potential of cucumber.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Pulok K; Nema, Neelesh K; Maity, Niladri; Sarkar, Birendra K

2013-01-01

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family like melon, squash and pumpkins. It is a popular vegetable crop used in Indian traditional medicine since ancient times. This vegetable is very high in water content and very low in calories. It has potential antidiabetic, lipid lowering and antioxidant activity. Cucumber has a cleansing action within the body by removing accumulated pockets of old waste materials and chemical toxins. Fresh fruit juice is used for nourishing the skin. It gives a soothing effect against skin irritations and reduces swelling. Cucumber also has the power to relax and alleviate the sunburn's pain. The fruit is refrigerant, haemostatic, tonic and useful in hyperdipsia, thermoplegia etc. The seeds also have a cooling effect on the body and they are used to prevent constipation. Several bioactive compounds have been isolated from cucumber including cucurbitacins, cucumegastigmanes I and II, cucumerin A and B, vitexin, orientin, isoscoparin 2″-O-(6‴-(E)-p-coumaroyl) glucoside, apigenin 7-O-(6″-O-p-coumaroylglucoside) etc. Despite huge exploration of cucumber in agricultural field, comparatively very few studies have been published about its chemical profile and its therapeutic potential. This article reviews the therapeutic application, pharmacological and phytochemical profile of different parts of C. sativus. In this review we have explored the current phytochemical and pharmacological knowledge available with this well known plant and several promising aspects for research on cucumber. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sea cucumbers, the ocean of bioactive compounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hadi Ebrahimi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Sea cucumbers are one of the most echinoderms and from the class Holothuroidea. Some of their specific biological activities are including anti-cancer, anticoagulant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-atherosclerosis and anti-tumor properties, as well as accelerate wound healing. The presence of different compounds such as saponins, chondroitin sulfates, glycosaminoglycans, sulfated Polysaccharides, glycoprotein, glycosphingolipids and essential and non essential fatty acids, are the causes of their biological properties. Saponins, which are produced for compatibility with the environment, are as theire secondary metabolites. These active compounds have biological properties like hemolytic, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, ichthyotoxic, cytostatic, anti neogenic, antineoplastic, and uric acid lowering effects. Sea cucumber, have high economic value. In East Asia, Since ancient times, it have been traditionally used for the treatment of fatigue, sexual impotence, impotence caused by aging, constipation due to intestinal dryness, urinary incontinence, asthma, hypertension, arthritis and anemia. Also, toxins obtained from sea cucumber, have anti-viral, anti-tumor, anti-cancer and anti-pregnancy properties. According to literatures, the aqueous extract and high molecular weight compounds from sea cucumbers can inhibit tumor activity, via the apoptosis induction. Sea cucumbers because of the high percentage of protein and the absence of cholesterol, classified as an invigorating food. Because of different species of sea cucumbers in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea the identification of compounds and biological properties of sea cucumber species in these regions is recommended to the researchers.

Dynamic Behavior of a SCARA Robot by using N-E Method for a Straight Line and Simulation of Motion by using Solidworks and Verification by Matlab/Simulink

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernini Brahim

2014-05-01

Full Text Available SCARA (Selective Compliant Assembly Robot Arm robot of serial architecture is widely used in assembly operations and operations "pick-place", it has been shown that use of robots improves the accuracy of assembly, and saves assembly time and cost as well. The most important condition for the choice of this kind of robot is the dynamic behavior for a given path, no closed solution for the dynamics of this important robot has been reported. This paper presents the study of the kinematics (forward and inverse by using D-H notation and the dynamics of SCARA robot by using N-E methods. A computer code is developed for trajectory generation by using inverse kinematics, and calculates the variations of the torques of the links for a straight line (path rest to rest between two positions for operation "pick-place". SCARA robot is constructed to achieve “pick-place» operation using SolidWorks software. And verification by Matlab/Simulink. The results of simulations were discussed. An agreement between the two softwares is certainly obtained herein

An Autonomous Robot for De-leafing Cumcumber Plants grown in a High-wire Cultivation System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Henten, van E.J.; Tuijl, van B.A.J.; Hoogakker, G.J.; Weerd, van der M.J.; Hemming, J.; Kornet, J.G.; Bontsema, J.

2006-01-01

The paper presents an autonomous robot for removing the leaves from cucumber plants grown in a high-wire cultivation system. Leaves at the lower end of the plants are removed because of their reduced vitality, their negligible contribution to canopy photosynthesis and their increased sensitivity to

Sea Cucumber (Holothuroidea Species of Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet AYDIN

2016-11-01

Full Text Available There are nearly 1200 sea cucumber species in the world oceans, while only 37 species from Holothuroidea class lives in the Mediterranean Sea. This preliminary study aims identification sea cucumbers species of the Turkish waters. The sea cucumber samples used in this study were obtained from a series of different studies between the years of 2008 and 2014. Identification of the species are mainly based on the morphometric characteristics while some of species are determined from their calcareous spicules. Eight sea species were identified in this research which are; Holothuria tubulosa, Holothuria polii, Holothuria mammata, Holothuria (Platyperona sanctori, Holothuria forskali, Stichopus regalis, Synaptula reciprocans and Stereoderma kirschbergi. There are limited number of studies in the literature focusing on the identification of the sea cucumber species spread in our seas. Therefore, this study is believed to play an important role in guiding future researches.

Identification of five sea cucumber species through PCR-RFLP analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Yingchun; Zheng, Rong; Zuo, Tao; Wang, Yuming; Li, Zhaojie; Xue, Yong; Xue, Changhu; Tang, Qingjuan

2014-10-01

Sea cucumbers are traditional marine food and Chinese medicine in Asia. The rapid expansion of sea cucumber market has resulted in various problems, such as commercial fraud and mislabeling. Conventionally, sea cucumber species could be distinguished by their morphological and anatomical characteristics; however, their identification becomes difficult when they are processed. The aim of this study was to develop a new convenient method of identifying and distinguishing sea cucumber species. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene ( COI) was used to identifing five sea cucumber species ( Apostichopus japonicus, Cucumaria frondosa, Thelenota ananas, Parastichopus californicus and Actinopyga lecanora). A 692 bp fragment of COI was searched for BamHI, KpnI, PstI, XbaI and Eco31I restriction sites with DNAMAN 6.0, which were then used to PCR-RFLP analysis. These five sea cucumber species can be discriminated from mixed sea cucumbers. The developed PCR-RFLP assay will facilitate the identification of sea cucumbers, making their source tracing and quality controlling feasible.

Markerless Kinect-Based Hand Tracking for Robot Teleoperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guanglong Du

2012-07-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a real-time remote robot teleoperation method using markerless Kinect-based hand tracking. Using this tracking algorithm, the positions of index finger and thumb in 3D can be estimated by processing depth images from Kinect. The hand pose is used as a model to specify the pose of a real-time remote robot's end-effector. This method provides a way to send a whole task to a remote robot instead of sending limited motion commands like gesture-based approaches and this method has been tested in pick-and-place tasks.

Development of Industrial High-Speed Transfer Parallel Robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Byung In; Kyung, Jin Ho; Do, Hyun Min; Jo, Sang Hyun

2013-01-01

Parallel robots used in industry require high stiffness or high speed because of their structural characteristics. Nowadays, the importance of rapid transportation has increased in the distribution industry. In this light, an industrial parallel robot has been developed for high-speed transfer. The developed parallel robot can handle a maximum payload of 3 kg. For a payload of 0.1 kg, the trajectory cycle time is 0.3 s (come and go), and the maximum velocity is 4.5 m/s (pick amp, place work, adept cycle). In this motion, its maximum acceleration is very high and reaches approximately 13g. In this paper, the design, analysis, and performance test results of the developed parallel robot system are introduced

Elemental composition of commercial sea cucumbers (holothurians).

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, J; Hu, C

2010-01-01

Toxic and essential elements in 11 different sea cucumber species were determined and compared with daily intake recommendations and maximum allowed levels. The contents of macro-elements contents in dried sea cucumber samples were found to be 25,000-152,000 mg kg(-1) for Na, 4000-8600 mg kg(-1) for Mg, 1100-5200 mg kg(-1) for K, 15,000-68,000 mg kg(-1) and 36,300-251,000 mg kg(-1) for Cl. Trace element concentrations in dried sea cucumber samples were found to be 11-100 mg kg(-1) for Zn, 41-660 mg kg(-1) for Fe, 3-74 mg kg(-1) for Cu, 1.1-16 mg kg(-1) for Mn, 1.4-3.7 mg kg(-1) for Se, 1.1-9.6 mg kg(-1) for Cr, and 0.3-5.1 mg kg(-1) for Ni. All sea cucumber species were rich sources of Na, Cl, Mg, Ca, Fe, Cu, Se and Cr for human consumption. Regarding contaminants, As, Cd and Pb concentrations in dried sea cucumbers were in the ranges of 1.1-6.1, 0.03-0.06 and 0.11-0.69 mg kg(-1), respectively. Moreover, Hg values of 11 sea cucumbers were below the detection limit (0.01 mg kg(-1)).

Towards Plug-n-Play robot guidance: Advanced 3D estimation and pose estimation in Robotic applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sølund, Thomas

and move objects, which are physical located at the same positions. In order to place objects in the same position each time, custom-made mechanical fixtures and aligners are constructed to ensure that objects are not moving. It is expensive to design and build these fixtures and it is difficult to quickly...... change to a novel task. In some cases where objects are placed in bins and boxes it is not possible to position the objects in the same location each time. To avoid designing expensive mechanical solutions and to be able to pick objects from boxes and bins, a sensor is necessary to guide the robot. Today...... while the robot motion programming is easily handled with the new collaborative robots. This thesis deals with robot vision technologies and how these are made easier for production workers program in order to get robots to recognize and compute the position of objects in the industry. This thesis...

Machine Learnig for Robotic Manipulation in cluttered environments

OpenAIRE

Alet Puig, Ferran

2016-01-01

In this thesis we focus on designing the planner for MIT s entry in the Amazon Picking Challenge, a robotic competition aiming at pushing the frontiers of manipulation until robots can substitute human pickers in warehouses. Given a set of manipulation primitives (such as grasping, suction, scooping, placing or pushing) we designed a system capable of learning a planner from a set of manipulation experiments. After learning, given any configuration of objects, the planner can come up with the...

Sea Cucumbers Metabolites as Potent Anti-Cancer Agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naveena B. Janakiram

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Sea cucumbers and their extracts have gained immense popularity and interest among researchers and nutritionists due to their nutritive value, potential health benefits, and use in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. Many areas of the world use sea cucumbers in traditional foods and folk medicine. Though the actual components and their specific functions still remain to be investigated, most sea cucumber extracts are being studied for their anti-inflammatory functions, immunostimulatory properties, and for cancer prevention and treatment. There is large scope for the discovery of additional bioactive, valuable compounds from this natural source. Sea cucumber extracts contain unique components, such as modified triterpene glycosides, sulfated polysaccharides, glycosphingolipids, and esterified phospholipids. Frondanol A5, an isopropyl alcohol/water extract of the enzymatically hydrolyzed epithelia of the edible North Atlantic sea cucumber, Cucumaria frondosa, contains monosulfated triterpenoid glycoside Frondoside A, the disulfated glycoside Frondoside B, the trisulfated glycoside Frondoside C, 12-methyltetradecanoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and fucosylated chondroitin sulfate. We have extensively studied the efficacy of this extract in preventing colon cancer in rodent models. In this review, we discuss the anti-inflammatory, immunostimulatory, and anti-tumor properties of sea cucumber extracts.

Cucumber cultivars for container gardening and the value of field trials for predicting Cucumber performance in containers

Science.gov (United States)

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is one of the most popular vegetable crops grown in U.S. home and urban gardens. The objectives of this study were to identify cultivars and planting densities for high yield of container-grown cucumbers. Additional objectives were to determine the value of field trials...

Genetic identification of a dwarf mutant in cucumber ( Cucumis ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The dwarf (compact) plant architecture is an important trait in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) breeding. A dwarf type mutant was selected from the cucumbers. The morphological and reproductive characteristics of the dwarf were compared with the vine plants. The dwarf type of cucumbers is characterized by its short ...

Niemann-Pick disease

Science.gov (United States)

NPD; Sphingomyelinase deficiency; Lipid storage disorder - Niemann-Pick disease; Lysosomal storage disease - Niemann-Pick ... lipofuscinoses or Batten disease (Wolman disease, cholesteryl ... metabolism of lipids. In: Kliegman RM, Stanton BF, St. Geme JW, ...

Application of closed queueing network in the performance of a pick-and-pass order picking system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaast, van der J.P.; Koster, de M.B.M.; Adan, I.J.B.F.; Resing, J.A.C.

2011-01-01

This paper presents a method for obtaining approximate solutions for pick-and-pass order picking systems with multiple classes of orders. The pick-and-pass system is decomposed into an entrance station, conveyor nodes and pick stations. A customer order needs to visit multiple pick stations, but the

Robotic technology results in faster and more robust surgical skill acquisition than traditional laparoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Lee J; Wilson, Mark R; Waine, Elizabeth; Masters, Rich S W; McGrath, John S; Vine, Samuel J

2015-03-01

Technical surgical skills are said to be acquired quicker on a robotic rather than laparoscopic platform. However, research examining this proposition is scarce. Thus, this study aimed to compare the performance and learning curves of novices acquiring skills using a robotic or laparoscopic system, and to examine if any learning advantages were maintained over time and transferred to more difficult and stressful tasks. Forty novice participants were randomly assigned to either a robotic- or laparoscopic-trained group. Following one baseline trial on a ball pick-and-drop task, participants performed 50 learning trials. Participants then completed an immediate retention trial and a transfer trial on a two-instrument rope-threading task. One month later, participants performed a delayed retention trial and a stressful multi-tasking trial. The results revealed that the robotic-trained group completed the ball pick-and-drop task more quickly and accurately than the laparoscopic-trained group across baseline, immediate retention, and delayed retention trials. Furthermore, the robotic-trained group displayed a shorter learning curve for accuracy. The robotic-trained group also performed the more complex rope-threading and stressful multi-tasking transfer trials better. Finally, in the multi-tasking trial, the robotic-trained group made fewer tone counting errors. The results highlight the benefits of using robotic technology for the acquisition of technical surgical skills.

A CORBA Wrapper for Applications with Multiple Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekaitz Zulueta

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a CORBA wrapper which encapsulates a generic anthropomorphic industrial robot. Since this wrapper abstracts the communications, building applications that require remote manipulation or coordination of several devices may be easily achieved by using it. This article describes an implementation of this wrapper over a real-time operating system (RTOS, namely RTAI. This type of OS ensures determinism in the movement operations of the robot. Also, a low resource consuming implementation of the CORBA specification, namely ORBit, has been used to wrap the robot and implement the communications with other devices. Finally, as a matter of example, we present how this wrapper is used to coordinate the operation of several robots in a typical 'pick & place' operation.

Multi-objective Design Optimization of a Parallel Schönflies-motion Robot

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Guanglei; Bai, Shaoping; Hjørnet, Preben

2016-01-01

. The dynamic performance is concerned mainly the capability of force transmission in the parallel kinematic chain, for which transmission indices are defined. The Pareto-front is obtained to investigate the influence of the design variables to the robot performance. Dynamic characteristics for three Pareto......This paper introduces a parallel Schoenflies-motion robot with rectangular workspace, which is suitable for pick-and-place operations. A multi-objective optimization problem is formulated to optimize the robot's geometric parameters with consideration of kinematic and dynamic performances...

Bioactive Compounds from Omani Sea Cucumbers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey Dobretsov

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Antimicrobial, anti-diatom and anti-larval activities of both water soluble (water  extracts and non-water soluble metabolites (methanol: chlorophorm, 1:1 extracts of the sea cucumbers Holothuria atra and Holothuria edulis  from Bander AL-Khiran region, Oman were tested in this study. There was no significant effect of  the extracts from sea cucumbers on bacterial (3 reference bacteria from seawater and pathogens  Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,  Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis and the diatom  Chaetoceros sp. growth. Both water extracts and methanol: chlorophorm extracts caused significant mortality of Artemia salina nauplia. This study suggests that Omani sea cucumbers might be a good  source of toxic anti-larval compounds.

Bioactive compounds of sea cucumbers and their therapeutic effects

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Shujuan; Feng, Wenjing; Hu, Song; Liang, Shixiu; An, Nina; Mao, Yongjun

2016-05-01

Sea cucumbers belong to the Class Holothuroidea of marine invertebrates. They are commercially valuable and prized as a food and folk medicine in Asia. Nutritionally, sea cucumbers have an impressive profile of valuable nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids. A number of unique biological and pharmacological activities/properties, including anticancer, anticoagulant/antithrombotic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antihyperlipidemic, antihyperglycemic, anti-inflammatory, antihypertension and radioprotective, have been ascribed to various compounds isolated from sea cucumbers. The therapeutic properties and medicinal benefits of sea cucumbers can be linked to the presence of a wide array of bioactives, especially triterpene glycosides, acid mucopolysaccharide, sphingoid bases, glycolipids, fucosylated chondroitin sulfate, polysaccharides, phospholipids, cerebrosides, phosphatidylcholines, and other extracts and hydrolysates. This review highlights the valuable bioactive components as well as the multiple therapeutic properties of sea cucumbers with a view to exploring their potential uses as functional foods and a natural source of new multifunctional drugs.

Individual variation in growth in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenck) housed individually

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Miao; Dong, Shuanglin; Gao, Qinfeng; Wang, Fang; Tian, Xiangli

2010-09-01

The exceptionally large individual growth variation has been previously recognized in several sea cucumber cohorts. However, there is a lack of information regarding the mechanism of such individual differences. In this study, the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) was reared individually in order to eliminate possible effects of social interaction, stocking density, etc. The results showed that there were substantial differences in growth among the sea cucumber individuals during the 100-day experiment. The special growth rate of the sea cucumber individuals differed by up to three folds (from 0.40% to 1.01%), and the coefficient of variation in body weight increased from 12.04% to 40.51%. The final wet body weight, food intake and food conversion efficiency for each sea cucumber were generally positively correlated with their initial wet body weight ( Psea cucumber individuals, largely accounting for the individual growth variation of the cohort sea cucumber. These results will provide some basic data for promoting selective breeding and farming of the sea cucumber.

Put order picking system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đurđević Dragan D.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays the warehouse is very important logistic component of the supply chain, where order-picking systems have important role. Due to the significant impact on logistics performance permanent goals are to increase efficiency and reduce the cost of these systems. To achieve these goals, there are different researches, and their success is determined by the achieved performances. Performances order picking process are dependent on the applied technology concepts of order-picking system, as well as the ways in which it is organized and managed. In addition to the standard conceptions (the man to good and good to the man is one of the newer, so-called. 'put' system - the inverse order-picking. The aim of this paper is to describe this concept, point out its core strengths and weaknesses and provide a basis that may be of importance in the development of warehouse technological solutions and application of this order-picking systems concept.

Phase Characterization of Cucumber Growth: A Chemical Gel Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Cucumber grows with complex phenomena by changing its volume and shape, which is not fully investigated and challenges agriculture and food safety industry. In order to understand the mechanism and to characterize the growth process, the cucumber is modeled as a hydrogel in swelling and its development is studied in both preharvest and postharvest stages. Based on thermodynamics, constitutive equations, incorporating biological quantities, are established. The growth behavior of cucumber follows the classic theory of continuous or discontinuous phase transition. The mechanism of bulged tail in cucumber is interpreted by phase coexistence and characterized by critical conditions. Conclusions are given for advances in food engineering and novel fabrication techniques in mechanical biology.

The effect of storage temperature of cucumber fruit on chlorophyll fluorescence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryszard Kosson

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The effect of three storage temperature levels: 12,5°C, 20°C, and 1,5°C on basic indexes of chlorophyll fluorescence of cucumber fruits was studied. The greenhouse grown cucumber fruits cv. Wiktor F1 were stored in perforated polyethylene bags or without packages. The minimum chlorophyll fluorescence (Fo, maximum chlorophyll fluorescence (Fm, variable chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv and relative variable fluorescence (Fv/Fm of the cucumber peel were measured. Relative variable fluorescence was decTeasing when cucumbers were stored at temperature lower or higher than optimum level. The chlorophyll fluorescence measurements can be helpful for determination of appropriate temperature parameters of cucumber storage.

Dexterous robotic manipulation of alert adult Drosophila for high-content experimentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Savall, Joan; Ho, Eric Tatt Wei; Huang, Cheng; Maxey, Jessica R; Schnitzer, Mark J

2015-07-01

We present a robot that enables high-content studies of alert adult Drosophila by combining operations including gentle picking; translations and rotations; characterizations of fly phenotypes and behaviors; microdissection; or release. To illustrate, we assessed fly morphology, tracked odor-evoked locomotion, sorted flies by sex, and dissected the cuticle to image neural activity. The robot's tireless capacity for precise manipulations enables a scalable platform for screening flies' complex attributes and behavioral patterns.

Developing methods of strip cropping cucumbers with rye/vetch

OpenAIRE

Ogutu, Maurice Okendo

2000-01-01

The purpose of this research carried out in 1998 and 1999 was to develop methods for strip cropping of cucumbers with rye/vetch and black plastic mulch. Effects of planting methods, weed control measures, and cover crop management techniques on pest and beneficial insects, petiole sap nitrate-nitrogen, soil moisture, yields and economic viability were assessed. Four treatments, namely cucumber direct seeded in black plastic mulch on tilled bare ground (conventional); cucumber d...

Design and development of a work robot to place ATLAS SCT modules onto barrel cylinders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terada, S.; Kobayashi, H.; Sengoku, H.; Kato, Y.; Hara, K.; Honma, F.; Ikegami, Y.; Iwata, Y.; Kohriki, T.; Kondo, T.; Nakano, I.; Takashima, R.; Tanaka, R.; Ujiie, N.; Unno, Y.; Yasuda, S.

2005-01-01

More than 2000 silicon modules need to be placed and fastened on the ATLAS SCT barrel tracker. A semi-automatic pick-and-place work robot was designed and developed to cope with the module placement for the SCT barrel assembly. We found that this robot could place modules to a mechanical precision of better than 25 μm

Design and development of a work robot to place ATLAS SCT modules onto barrel cylinders

CERN Document Server

Terada, S; Honma, F; Ikegami, Y; Iwata, Y; Kato, Y; Kobayashi, H; Kohriki, T; Kondo, T; Nakano, I; Sengoku, H; Takashima, R; Tanaka, R; Ujiie, N; Unno, Y; Yasuda, S

2005-01-01

More than 2000 silicon modules need to be placed and fastened on the ATLAS SCT barrel tracker. A semi-automatic pick-and-place work robot was designed and developed to cope with the module placement for the SCT barrel assembly. We found that this robot could place modules to a mechanical precision of better than 25 mum.

Biosynthesis, regulation, and domestication of bitterness in cucumber

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shang, Y.; Ma, Y.; Bouwmeester, H.J.

2014-01-01

Cucurbitacins are triterpenoids that confer a bitter taste in cucurbits such as cucumber, melon, watermelon, squash, and pumpkin. These compounds discourage most pests on the plant and have also been shown to have antitumor properties. With genomics and biochemistry, we identified nine cucumber

economics of cucumber production in rivers state, nigeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2016-05-02

May 2, 2016 ... Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria ... The study aimed to determine the profitability of cucumber production in two local government .... more amenable to risk taking and change than non- ..... improve cucumber value chain, attract better prices ... management practices.

Detection of mechanical injury on pickling cucumbers using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Ariana, D.; Lu, R.; Guyer, D.

2005-11-01

Automated detection of defects on freshly harvested pickling cucumbers will help the pickle industry provide higher quality pickle products and reduce potential economic losses. Research was conducted on using a hyperspectral imaging system for detecting defects on pickling cucumbers caused by mechanical stress. A near-infrared hyperspectral imaging system was used to capture both spatial and spectral information from cucumbers in the spectral region of 900 - 1700 nm. The system consisted of an imaging spectrograph attached to an InGaAs camera with line-light fiber bundles as an illumination source. Cucumber samples were subjected to two forms of mechanical loading, dropping and rolling, to simulate stress caused by mechanical harvesting. Hyperspectral images were acquired from the cucumbers over time periods of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 6 days after mechanical stress. Hyperspectral image processing methods, including principal component analysis and wavelength selection, were developed to separate normal and mechanically injured cucumbers. Results showed that reflectance from normal or non-bruised cucumbers was consistently higher than that from bruised cucumbers. The spectral region between 950 and 1350 nm was found to be most effective for bruise detection. The hyperspectral imaging system detected all mechanically injured cucumbers immediately after they were bruised. The overall detection accuracy was 97% within two hours of bruising and it was lower as time progressed. Lower detection accuracies for the prolonged times after bruising were attributed to the self- healing of the bruised tissue after mechanical injury. This research demonstrated that hyperspectral imaging is useful for detecting mechanical injury on pickling cucumbers.

Prospect of Sea Cucumber Culture in Indonesia as Potential Food Sources

OpenAIRE

Pangkey, Henneke; Lantu, Sartje; Manuand, Lusia; Mokolensang, JeffrieFredrik

2012-01-01

Sea cucumber is one of the sea treasures which has been used not only as luxury food for certain countries but also as medicines. Sea cucumber has become one of the most important products and it has high price in International market.For this reason, the exploitation of sea cucumber turns out to be excessive and disturbs its sustainability. Aquaculture is the best way to prevent this problem. The success of sea cucumber culture is very depend on seed availability and suitable food for larvae...

A REVIEW OF ORDER PICKING IMPROVEMENT METHODS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johan Oscar Ong

2014-09-01

Full Text Available As a crucial and one of the most important parts of warehousing, order picking often raises discussion between warehousing professionals, resulting in various studies aiming to analyze how order picking activity can be improved from various perspective. This paper reviews various past researches on order picking improvement, and the various methods those studies analyzed or developed. This literature review is based on twenty research articles on order picking improvement viewed from four different perspectives: Automation (specifically, stock-to-picker system, storage assignment policy, order batching, and order picking sequencing. By reviewing these studies, we try to identify the most prevalent order picking improvement approach to order picking improvement. Keywords: warehousing; stock-to-picker; storage assignment; order batching; order picking sequencing; improvement

Evaluation of the power consumption of a high-speed parallel robot

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Gang; Xie, Fugui; Liu, Xin-Jun

2018-06-01

An inverse dynamic model of a high-speed parallel robot is established based on the virtual work principle. With this dynamic model, a new evaluation method is proposed to measure the power consumption of the robot during pick-and-place tasks. The power vector is extended in this method and used to represent the collinear velocity and acceleration of the moving platform. Afterward, several dynamic performance indices, which are homogenous and possess obvious physical meanings, are proposed. These indices can evaluate the power input and output transmissibility of the robot in a workspace. The distributions of the power input and output transmissibility of the high-speed parallel robot are derived with these indices and clearly illustrated in atlases. Furtherly, a low-power-consumption workspace is selected for the robot.

Compliance Modeling and Error Compensation of a 3-Parallelogram Lightweight Robotic Arm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Guanglei; Guo, Sheng; Bai, Shaoping

2015-01-01

This paper presents compliance modeling and error compensation for lightweight robotic arms built with parallelogram linkages, i.e., Π joints. The Cartesian stiffness matrix is derived using the virtual joint method. Based on the developed stiffness model, a method to compensate the compliance...... error is introduced, being illustrated with a 3-parallelogram robot in the application of pick-and-place operation. The results show that this compensation method can effectively improve the operation accuracy....

Effect of pesticide mixture on value of fresh, fermented and pickles cucumbers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krystyna WElkner

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In years 1998-1999 effects of fungicides (azoxystrobin and copper hydroxide, insecticides (etafenproks and pirimicarb and their mixtures on chemical composition and organoleptic quality of fresh, fermented and pickled cucumbers were studied_ To analyses fruits were taken after 7 and 12 days from treatment. Fresh cucumber fruits after 7 days from treatment with investigated pesticides contained less carbohydrates and ascorbic acids and higher level of nitrates in compare to untreated fruits (control. After 12 days from treatment the differences between treated and untreated fruits dissapeared. Cucumber fruits harvested 7 and 12 days after treatment were processed separately. Quality evaluation of fermented and pickled cucumbers was carried out 4 months after processing. In most of cucumber fruits (7 days after treatment with pesticides treated with pesticides empty cavities were found, and not in control (untreated. Number of cavities was highest in fresh and pickled cucumbers treated with mixture of fungicide and insecticide. In case of fermented cucumbers highest number of empty cavities occurred in fruits treated with fungicide azoxystrobin. Cucumber fruits taken to fermentation process 7 days after day of treatment had darker green colour, lowered haIdness, and larger empty cavities than untreated fruits. In fruits harvested 12 days after pesticides application such differencess were not observed.

Biological activities and biomedical potential of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus: a review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gun-Woo Oh

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Members of the phylum Echinodermata, commonly known as echinoderms, are exclusively marine invertebrates. Among the Echinodermata, sea cucumber belongs to the family Holothuroidea. The sea cucumber Stichopus (Apostichous japonicus (Selenka is an invertebrate animal inhabiting the coastal sea around Korean, Japan, China, and Russia. Sea cucumber has a significant commercial value, because it contains valuable nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. They possess a number of distinctive biologically and pharmacologically important compounds. In particular, the body wall of sea cucumber is a major edible part. It consists of peptide, collagen, gelatin, polysaccharide, and saponin, which possess several biological activities such as anti-cancer, anti-coagulation, anti-oxidation, and anti-osteoclastogenesis. Furthermore, the regenerative capacity of sea cucumber makes it a medically important organism. This review presents the various biological activities and biomedical potential of sea cucumber S. japonicus.

Anticancer potency of black sea cucumber (Holothuria atra) from Mentawai Islands, Indonesia

OpenAIRE

Mieke Hemiawati Satari; Utmi Arma; Syafruddin Ilyas; Dian Handayani

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Introduction: The source of bioactive compounds believed to have strong anticancer potency is derived from sea cucumber. Black sea cucumber (Holothuria atra) is a dominant species in Mentawai Islands, West Sumatera, Indonesia. Key factor compound that acts as anticancer in sea cucumber extract is tritepenoid also known as Frondoside A. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the active compound taken from black sea cucumber as anticancer. Methods: Methods u...

Growth and mebrane lipid composition in cucumber : Morphological and physiological differences between two low temperature tolerant cucumber lines and a control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bulder, Hermana Adriana Maria

1992-01-01

The aim of the investigation was to get more insight into the physiological background of a better fuctioning of cucumber plants under a suboptimal temperature regime (20/12˚C day/night instead of 25/20˚C day/night) and low light condtitions. Young cucumber platns were uesd with the goals of

Economic and agronomic analysis of conventional and organic concept of cucumber growing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavlović Nenad

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Contemporary agro-technology enables high and stabile yield of slicing cucumber throughout the whole year. This study deals with total costs of production, yield per surface unit and the main parameters of profitability of producing slicing cucumber in the greenhouses and in the open field in conventional and organic farming system. Growing cucumbers in the greenhouses and in accordance with the principles of organic farming are the main conditions for higher prices in the market. The highest total costs (820.00 EUR/are but also the highest gain (225.00 EUR/are was realized in producing slicing cucumber both in the greenhouse in the organic farming system. Financial losses were recorded when growing cucumbers in the open field despite lower costs, both in organic and conventional system of growing: 29.00 EUR/are, i.e. -15.00 EUR/are, respectively. The business rate of profitability and the coefficient of cost-effectiveness were higher in growing cucumber in greenhouses in both concepts of production.

Small-scale soft-bodied robot with multimodal locomotion

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Wenqi; Lum, Guo Zhan; Mastrangeli, Massimo; Sitti, Metin

2018-02-01

Untethered small-scale (from several millimetres down to a few micrometres in all dimensions) robots that can non-invasively access confined, enclosed spaces may enable applications in microfactories such as the construction of tissue scaffolds by robotic assembly, in bioengineering such as single-cell manipulation and biosensing, and in healthcare such as targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery. Existing small-scale robots, however, have very limited mobility because they are unable to negotiate obstacles and changes in texture or material in unstructured environments. Of these small-scale robots, soft robots have greater potential to realize high mobility via multimodal locomotion, because such machines have higher degrees of freedom than their rigid counterparts. Here we demonstrate magneto-elastic soft millimetre-scale robots that can swim inside and on the surface of liquids, climb liquid menisci, roll and walk on solid surfaces, jump over obstacles, and crawl within narrow tunnels. These robots can transit reversibly between different liquid and solid terrains, as well as switch between locomotive modes. They can additionally execute pick-and-place and cargo-release tasks. We also present theoretical models to explain how the robots move. Like the large-scale robots that can be used to study locomotion, these soft small-scale robots could be used to study soft-bodied locomotion produced by small organisms.

A review of the immune molecules in the sea cucumber.

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Zhuang; Li, Hui; Wang, Xiuli; Li, Xia; Liu, Yang; Sun, Jing; Liu, Cenjie

2015-05-01

It is very important to identify and characterize the immune-related genes that respond to pathogens. Until recently, only some of the immune-related genes in sea cucumbers had been characterized. Their expression patterns after pathogen challenges have been analyzed via expressed sequence tag libraries, microarray studies and proteomic approaches. These genes include lectins, antimicrobial peptides, lysozyme, enzymes, clotting protein, pattern recognition proteins, Toll receptors, complement C3 and other humoral factors that might participate in the innate immune system of sea cucumbers. Although the participation of some of these immune molecules in the sea cucumber's innate immune defense against invading pathogens has been demonstrated, the functions of many of the molecules remain unclear. This review focuses on the discovery and functional characterization of the immune-related molecules from the sea cucumber for the first time and provides new insights into the immune mechanisms of the sea cucumber, which opens new possibilities for developing drugs for novel anti-bacterial and antiviral applications in fisheries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Habitat characteristic of two selected locations for sea cucumber ranching purposes

Science.gov (United States)

Hartati, Retno; Trianto, Agus; Widianingsih

2017-02-01

Sea cucumbers face heavily overfished because of their high prices and very strong market demand. One effort suggested to overcome this problem is sea ranching. The objectives of present works were to determine biological, physical, and chemical characteristics of prospective location for sea ranching of sea cucumber Holothuria atra. Two location at Jepara Waters (Teluk Awur and Bandengan WateRs of Jepara Regency) were selected. The determination of chemical (salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen of water, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite and ammonium of water and sediment, organic matters of sediment), physical (transparancy, sedimen grains size, water current direction and its velocity), biologycal characteristic (coverage of seagrass and its macroalgae associated, phytoplankton as well as chlorophyl-a and phaeopytin of water and sediment) ware determined. The result of present work showed that some characteristic were matched with requirement as sea ranching location of sea cucumber because the density of sea cucumber in the sea is a function of habitat features. For sediment feeding holothurians of the family Aspidochirotida, the biologycal characteristic act as very important considerations by providing sea cucumber food. High cholophyl-a and phaeopytin in sediment also represent a prosperous habitat for sea cucumber ranching.

Applications Research of Microbial Ecological Preparation in Sea Cucumber Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Jiahui; Wang, Guangyu

2017-12-01

At present, micro ecological preparation is widely applied in aquaculture with good effect. The application of micro ecological preparation in sea cucumber culture can effectively improve the economic benefits. The micro ecological preparation can play the role of inhibiting harmful bacteria, purifying water quality and saving culture cost in the process of sea cucumber culture. We should select appropriate bacteria, guarantee stable environment and use with long-term in the applications of microbial ecological preparation in sea cucumber culture to obtain good effects.

[Effects of exogenous silicon on physiological characteristics of cucumber seedlings under ammonium stress].

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Qing-Hai; Wang, Ya-Kun; Lu, Xiao-Min; Jia, Shuang-Shuang

2014-05-01

The present study evaluated the effects of exogenous silicon on growth and physiological characteristics of hydroponically cultured cucumber seedlings under ammonium stress. The results showed that the growth, especially the aerial part growth of cucumber seedlings cultured with ammonium were significantly inhibited than those with nitrate, especially after treatment for 10 d, the aerial part fresh mass of cucumber seedlings were reduced 6.17 g per plant. The accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was also promoted in cucumber seedlings under ammonium, and the contents of O2*- and H2O2 were significantly increased in cucumber leaves. With the exogenous silicon treatment, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were significantly improved, the ability to remove reactive oxygen species was enhanced, the contents of O2*- and H2O2 were significantly reduced in cucumber leaves, decreasing the reactive oxygen damage to the cell membrane, and the ratio of electrolyte leakage and the content of MDA in cucumber leaves. Also, with exogenous silicon treatment, the plasma membrane and activity of vacuolar membrane H(+)-ATP was significantly increased, transport capacity of intracellular proton was improved, and the level of ammonium in cucumber body was significantly reduced, thereby reducing the toxicity of ammonium. In conclusion, exogenous silicon could relieve ammonium stress, by increasing the antioxidant enzyme activity, H(+)-ATP activity, and decreasing the ammonium content in cucumber seedlings.

Melatonin Has the Potential to Alleviate Cinnamic Acid Stress in Cucumber Seedlings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juanqi Li

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Cinnamic acid (CA, which is a well-known major autotoxin secreted by the roots in cucumber continuous cropping, has been proven to exhibit inhibitory regulation of plant morphogenesis and development. Melatonin (MT has been recently demonstrated to play important roles in alleviating plant abiotic stresses. To investigate whether MT supplementation could improve cucumber seedling growth under CA stress, we treated cucumber seeds and seedlings with/without MT under CA- or non-stress conditions, and then tested their effects on cucumber seedling growth, morphology, nutrient element content, and plant hormone. Overall, 10 μM MT best rescued cucumber seedling growth under 0.4 mM CA stress. MT was found to alleviate CA-stressed seedling growth by increasing the growth rates of cotyledons and leaves and by stimulating lateral root growth. Additionally, MT increased the allocation of newly gained dry weight in roots and improved the tolerance of cucumber seedlings to CA stress by altering the nutrient elements and hormone contents of the whole plant. These results strongly suggest that the application of MT can effectively improve cucumber seedling tolerance to CA stress through the perception and integration of morphology, nutrient element content and plant hormone signaling crosstalk.

Sea Cucumber Glycosides: Chemical Structures, Producing Species and Important Biological Properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Mondol, Muhammad Abdul Mojid; Shin, Hee Jae; Rahman, M Aminur; Islam, Mohamad Tofazzal

2017-10-17

Sea cucumbers belonging to echinoderm are traditionally used as tonic food in China and other Asian countries. They produce abundant biologically active triterpene glycosides. More than 300 triterpene glycosides have been isolated and characterized from various species of sea cucumbers, which are classified as holostane and nonholostane depending on the presence or absence of a specific structural unit γ(18,20)-lactone in the aglycone. Triterpene glycosides contain a carbohydrate chain up to six monosaccharide units mainly consisting of d-xylose, 3-O-methy-d-xylose, d-glucose, 3-O-methyl-d-glucose, and d-quinovose. Cytotoxicity is the common biological property of triterpene glycosides isolated from sea cucumbers. Besides cytotoxicity, triterpene glycosides also exhibit antifungal, antiviral and hemolytic activities. This review updates and summarizes our understanding on diverse chemical structures of triterpene glycosides from various species of sea cucumbers and their important biological activities. Mechanisms of action and structural-activity relationships (SARs) of sea cucumber glycosides are also discussed briefly.

The Affordance Template ROS Package for Robot Task Programming

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Stephen; Dinh, Paul; Hambuchen, Kimberly

2015-01-01

This paper introduces the Affordance Template ROS package for quickly programming, adjusting, and executing robot applications in the ROS RViz environment. This package extends the capabilities of RViz interactive markers by allowing an operator to specify multiple end-effector waypoint locations and grasp poses in object-centric coordinate frames and to adjust these waypoints in order to meet the run-time demands of the task (specifically, object scale and location). The Affordance Template package stores task specifications in a robot-agnostic XML description format such that it is trivial to apply a template to a new robot. As such, the Affordance Template package provides a robot-generic ROS tool appropriate for building semi-autonomous, manipulation-based applications. Affordance Templates were developed by the NASA-JSC DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) team and have since successfully been deployed on multiple platforms including the NASA Valkyrie and Robonaut 2 humanoids, the University of Texas Dreamer robot and the Willow Garage PR2. In this paper, the specification and implementation of the affordance template package is introduced and demonstrated through examples for wheel (valve) turning, pick-and-place, and drill grasping, evincing its utility and flexibility for a wide variety of robot applications.

Soft Robotic Manipulation of Onions and Artichokes in the Food Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Morales

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the development of a robotic solution for a problem of fast manipulation and handling of onions or artichokes in the food industry. The complete solution consists of a parallel robotic manipulatior, a specially designed end-effector based on a customized vacuum suction cup, and a computer vision software developed for pick and place operations. First, the selection and design process of the proposed robotic solution to fit with the initial requeriments is presented, including the customized vacuum suction cup. Then, the kinematic analysis of the parallel manipulator needed to develop the robot control system is reviewed. Moreover, computer vision application is presented inthe paper. Hardware details of the implementation of the building prototype are also shown. Finally, conclusions and future work show the current status of the project.

Determination of Micronutrient Accumulation in Greenhouse Cucumber Crop Using a Modeling Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lino J. Ramírez-Pérez

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The control of micronutrient application in cucumber cultivation has great importance as they participate in many functions of metabolism. In addition, micronutrient application efficiency is fundamental to avoid periods of overconsumption or deficits in the crop. To determine micronutrient accumulation using a dynamic model, two cycles of Vitaly and Luxell cucumber crops were grown. During the development of the crop, micronutrient content (Fe, B, Mn, Cu, and Zn in the different organs of the cucumber plant was quantified. The model dynamically simulated the accumulation of biomass and micronutrients using climatic variables recorded inside the greenhouse as inputs. It was found that a decrease in photosynthetically active radiation and temperature significantly diminished the accumulation of biomass by the cucumber plants. On the other hand, the results demonstrated that the model efficiently simulated both the accumulation of biomass and micronutrients in a cucumber crop. The efficiency evaluation showed values higher than R2 > 0.95. This dynamic model can be useful to define adequate strategies for the management of cucumber cultivation in greenhouses as well as the application of micronutrients.

Computer vision system R&D for EAST Articulated Maintenance Arm robot

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Linglong, E-mail: linglonglin@ipp.ac.cn; Song, Yuntao, E-mail: songyt@ipp.ac.cn; Yang, Yang, E-mail: yangy@ipp.ac.cn; Feng, Hansheng, E-mail: hsfeng@ipp.ac.cn; Cheng, Yong, E-mail: chengyong@ipp.ac.cn; Pan, Hongtao, E-mail: panht@ipp.ac.cn

2015-11-15

Highlights: • We discussed the image preprocessing, object detection and pose estimation algorithms under poor light condition of inner vessel of EAST tokamak. • The main pipeline, including contours detection, contours filter, MER extracted, object location and pose estimation, was carried out in detail. • The technical issues encountered during the research were discussed. - Abstract: Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) is the first full superconducting tokamak device which was constructed at Institute of Plasma Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP). The EAST Articulated Maintenance Arm (EAMA) robot provides the means of the in-vessel maintenance such as inspection and picking up the fragments of first wall. This paper presents a method to identify and locate the fragments semi-automatically by using the computer vision. The use of computer vision in identification and location faces some difficult challenges such as shadows, poor contrast, low illumination level, less texture and so on. The method developed in this paper enables credible identification of objects with shadows through invariant image and edge detection. The proposed algorithms are validated through our ASIPP robotics and computer vision platform (ARVP). The results show that the method can provide a 3D pose with reference to robot base so that objects with different shapes and size can be picked up successfully.

Effects of Wax Coating on the Moisture Loss of Cucumbers at Different Storage Temperatures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Li

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The effects of wax coating on moisture loss of cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L., cv. Jinglv were investigated at different temperatures. Cucumbers were treated with 10% (volume : volume wax and then stored at 15, 20, 25, or 30°C and 55% relative humidity. The changes in the mass of samples were recorded every 6 h. Results showed that wax coating along with low temperature was very effective in preventing moisture loss of cucumbers during simulated distribution. After 48 h storage, moisture loss in wax treated cucumbers at 15°C was 45% lower than the control at 30°C. Furthermore, a kinetic model was developed to study the influence of temperature on moisture loss based on the Arrhenius law. The model successfully described changes in cucumber moisture loss at different temperatures during storage. The shelf life of cucumber was also predicted using the kinetic model. A synergistic effect was found between wax coating and storage temperature on cucumber shelf life. Wax coating combined with low storage temperature was an effective method to extend the shelf life of cucumber fruit.

An Integrated Genetic and Cytogenetic Map of the Cucumber Genome

Science.gov (United States)

The Cucurbitaceae includes important crops as cucumber, melon, watermelon, and squash and pumpkin. However, few genetic and genomic resources are available for plant improvement. Some cucurbit species such as cucumber have a narrow genetic base, which impedes construction of saturated molecular li...

Design of portable diagnostic system of cucumber leaf mildew

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Y.; Chang, R. K.; Wang, Y. H.; Liu, H.; Tang, G. C.

2015-12-01

Powdery mildew is one of the major diseases of facilities vegetables. In order to achieve early, fast, and accurate diagnosis of powdery mildew, with TCS3200 color sensor and infrared sensor as detecting port and 12864 dot matrix LCD as display, the system explores the external change such as the color change of the blade in health and disease stage and change of reflection spectra. Through tracking experiment of different stages of cucumber leaves infected, the results show that the system can identify change of optical frequency values and the RGB values in the health cucumber leaves and infected cucumber leaves and thus provides effective warning alarm for controlling early disease occurrence.

Investigation of human-robot interface performance in household environments

Science.gov (United States)

Cremer, Sven; Mirza, Fahad; Tuladhar, Yathartha; Alonzo, Rommel; Hingeley, Anthony; Popa, Dan O.

2016-05-01

Today, assistive robots are being introduced into human environments at an increasing rate. Human environments are highly cluttered and dynamic, making it difficult to foresee all necessary capabilities and pre-program all desirable future skills of the robot. One approach to increase robot performance is semi-autonomous operation, allowing users to intervene and guide the robot through difficult tasks. To this end, robots need intuitive Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) that support fine motion control without overwhelming the operator. In this study we evaluate the performance of several interfaces that balance autonomy and teleoperation of a mobile manipulator for accomplishing several household tasks. Our proposed HMI framework includes teleoperation devices such as a tablet, as well as physical interfaces in the form of piezoresistive pressure sensor arrays. Mobile manipulation experiments were performed with a sensorized KUKA youBot, an omnidirectional platform with a 5 degrees of freedom (DOF) arm. The pick and place tasks involved navigation and manipulation of objects in household environments. Performance metrics included time for task completion and position accuracy.

Induction of resistance in cucumber against seedling damping-off by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Bacillus megaterium L8, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR), was isolated and evaluated for its ability to induce resistance in cucumber against seedling damping-off caused by Pythium aphanidermatum. Root-splitting challenge experiments showed that L8 treatment of cucumber roots more effectively ...

Determining stress fields of shearer-loader picks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luszczkiewicz, J; Sikora, W

1987-06-01

Analyzes factors which influence stress distribution in the NK-4 shearer-loader picks during coal cutting. The AFT optically active cover, 0.0015 mm thick, was used. The pick with the AFT cover was loaded using a force of 33 kN. Isoclinic lines showing stress distribution were photographed. Effects of pick design and its holder type on stress distribution were investigated. Investigations showed that distribution of normal stresses in a pick shaft has a non-linear character. The hole in a pick shaft increased stress concentration in that shaft section. Eliminating the hole reduced stress concentration. Reducing shaft length by about 20 mm did not increase stresses in that shaft zone. 15 refs.

Automatic traveltime picking using instantaneous traveltime

KAUST Repository

Saragiotis, Christos; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali; Fomel, Sergey

2013-01-01

Event picking is used in many steps of seismic processing. We present an automatic event picking method that is based on a new attribute of seismic signals, instantaneous traveltime. The calculation of the instantaneous traveltime consists of two separate but interrelated stages. First, a trace is mapped onto the time-frequency domain. Then the time-frequency representation is mapped back onto the time domain by an appropriate operation. The computed instantaneous traveltime equals the recording time at those instances at which there is a seismic event, a feature that is used to pick the events. We analyzed the concept of the instantaneous traveltime and demonstrated the application of our automatic picking method on dynamite and Vibroseis field data.

Automatic traveltime picking using instantaneous traveltime

KAUST Repository

Saragiotis, Christos

2013-02-08

Event picking is used in many steps of seismic processing. We present an automatic event picking method that is based on a new attribute of seismic signals, instantaneous traveltime. The calculation of the instantaneous traveltime consists of two separate but interrelated stages. First, a trace is mapped onto the time-frequency domain. Then the time-frequency representation is mapped back onto the time domain by an appropriate operation. The computed instantaneous traveltime equals the recording time at those instances at which there is a seismic event, a feature that is used to pick the events. We analyzed the concept of the instantaneous traveltime and demonstrated the application of our automatic picking method on dynamite and Vibroseis field data.

[Effects of wheat root exudates on cucumber growth and soil fungal community structure].

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Feng-Zhi; Li, Min; Cao, Peng; Ma, Ya-Fei; Wang, Li-Li

2014-10-01

With wheat as the donor plant and cucumber as the receptor plant, this study investigated the effects of root exudates from wheat cultivars with different allelopathic potentials (positive or negative) and companion cropping with wheat on soil fungal community structure by PCR-DGGE method and cucumber growth. Results showed that the wheat root exudates with positive allelopathic potential increased height and stem diameter of cucumber seedlings significantly, compared to the control seedlings (W) after 6 days and 12 days treatment, respectively. Also, wheat root exudates with both positive and negative allelopathic potential increased the seedling height of cucumber significantly after 18 days treatment. The wheat root exudates with different allelopathic potentials decreased the band number, Shannon and evenness indices of soil fungal community significantly in cucumber seedling rhizosphere, and those in the soil with the control seedlings (W) were also significantly higher than that in the control soil without seedlings (Wn) after 6 days treatment. The band number, Shannon and evenness indices in all the treatments were significantly higher than those in the control soil without seedlings (Wn) after 18 days treatment. Companion cropping with negative allelopathic potential wheat decreased the Shannon and evenness indices of soil fungi community significantly in the cucumber seedling rhizosphere, suggesting the wheat root exudates and companion cropping with wheat changed soil fungal community structure in the cucumber seedling rhizosphere. The results of DGGE map and the principal component analysis showed that companion cropping with wheat cultivars with different allelopathic potentials changed soil fungal community structure in cucumber seedling rhizosphere.

Mechanical stress induces neuroendocrine and immune responses of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus)

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Jie; Li, Fenghui; Sun, Huiling; Gao, Fei; Yan, Jingping; Gai, Chunlei; Chen, Aihua; Wang, Qingyin

2015-04-01

Grading procedure in routine sea cucumber hatchery production is thought to affect juvenile sea cucumber immunological response. The present study investigated the impact of a 3-min mechanical perturbation mimicking the grading procedure on neuroendocrine and immune parameters of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. During the application of stress, concentrations of noradrenaline and dopamine in coelomic fluid increased significantly, indicating that the mechanical perturbation resulted in a transient state of stress in sea cucumbers. Coelomocytes concentration in coelomic fluid increased transiently after the beginning of stressing, and reached the maximum in 1 h. Whereas, coelomocytes phagocytosis at 3 min, superoxide anion production from 3 min to 0.5 h, acid phosphatase activity at 0.5 h, and phenoloxidase activity from 3 min to 0.5 h were all significantly down-regulated. All of the immune parameters recovered to baseline levels after the experiment was conducted for 8 h, and an immunostimulation occurred after the stress considering the phagocytosis and acid phosphatase activity. The results suggested that, as in other marine invertebrates, neuroendocrine/immune connections exist in sea cucumber A. japonicus. Mechanical stress can elicit a profound influence on sea cucumber neuroendocrine system. Neuroendocrine messengers act in turn to modulate the immunity functions. Therefore, these effects should be considered for developing better husbandry procedures.

Robots in Health and Social Care: A Complementary Technology to Home Care and Telehealthcare?

OpenAIRE

Torbjørn S. Dahl; Maged N. Kamel Boulos

2013-01-01

This article offers a brief overview of most current and potential uses and applications of robotics in health/care and social care, whether commercially ready and available on the market or still at the various stages of research and prototyping. We provide carefully hand-picked examples and pointers to on-going research for each set of identified robotics applications and then discuss the main ingredients for the success of these applications, as well as the main issues surrounding their a...

Root oxygen use determination of propagated cucumber on rockwool cubes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gérard, S.; Blok, C.

2013-01-01

Cucumbers were propagated in rockwool cubes in a climate cell for four weeks. The complete root system of each cucumber was enclosed in an airtight box. Each box was connected to an air bag, which acted as an air reservoir. A peristaltic pump ensured air circulation in the system. Treatments

An improved contour symmetry axes extraction algorithm and its application in the location of picking points of apples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, D.; Song, H.; Yu, X.; Zhang, W.; Qu, W.; Xu, Y.

2015-07-01

The key problem for picking robots is to locate the picking points of fruit. A method based on the moment of inertia and symmetry of apples is proposed in this paper to locate the picking points of apples. Image pre-processing procedures, which are crucial to improving the accuracy of the location, were carried out to remove noise and smooth the edges of apples. The moment of inertia method has the disadvantage of high computational complexity, which should be solved, so convex hull was used to improve this problem. To verify the validity of this algorithm, a test was conducted using four types of apple images containing 107 apple targets. These images were single and unblocked apple images, single and blocked apple images, images containing adjacent apples, and apples in panoramas. The root mean square error values of these four types of apple images were 6.3, 15.0, 21.6 and 18.4, respectively, and the average location errors were 4.9°, 10.2°, 16.3° and 13.8°, respectively. Furthermore, the improved algorithm was effective in terms of average runtime, with 3.7 ms and 9.2 ms for single and unblocked and single and blocked apple images, respectively. For the other two types of apple images, the runtime was determined by the number of apples and blocked apples contained in the images. The results showed that the improved algorithm could extract symmetry axes and locate the picking points of apples more efficiently. In conclusion, the improved algorithm is feasible for extracting symmetry axes and locating the picking points of apples. (Author)

Automation, robotics and remote handling technology in the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajagopalan, C.; Venugopal, S.

2013-01-01

Automation and Robotics technology are making significant contributions in almost all fields of engineering and technology and their presence is felt in all spheres of human life. The importance of automation and robotics has increased rapidly in the recent years to cater to the global competitive pressures by the manufacturing industry by utilizing the increased productivity and improved quality this technology offers. Improvement of productivity, quality, profitability and, indeed, survival are the major motivating factors in the implementation of automation and robotics technology in the manufacturing sector. Robots are used extensively in the automotive industry, primarily for welding, painting and material handling applications. The electronics, aerospace, metalworking and consumer goods industries are also major potential robot users. The common uses of robots in industries mostly include the four Ps - Picking, Placing, Packaging and Painting - apart from other industrial routines like assembly and welding. As is the case with industrial tools and machineries, a properly designed robot (for the appropriate task) has almost unlimited endurance with the added benefit of precisions unmatched by human workers. With robot technology as a key element, integrated factory automation systems touch on nearly all types of manufacturing. The productivity and competitiveness in these industries will depend in large part on flexible automation through robotics

Characterization and comparison of proteomes of albino sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) by iTRAQ analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Chang-Ge; Zhang, Dijun; Ma, Chengnv; Zhou, Jun; He, Shan; Su, Xiu-Rong

2016-04-01

Sea cucumber is a commercially important marine organism in China. Of the different colored varieties sold in China, albino sea cucumber has the greatest appeal among consumers. Identification of factors contributing to albinism in sea cucumber is therefore likely to provide a scientific basis for improving the cultivability of these strains. In this study, two-dimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry coupled with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification labeling was used for the first time to quantitatively define the proteome of sea cucumbers and reveal proteomic characteristics unique to albino sea cucumbers. A total of 549 proteins were identified and quantified in albino sea cucumber and the functional annotations of 485 proteins have been exhibited based on COG database. Compared with green sea cucumber, 12 proteins were identified as differentially expressed in the intestine and 16 proteins in the body wall of albino sea cucumber. Among them, 5 proteins were up-regulated in the intestine and 8 proteins were down-regulated in body wall. Gene ontology annotations of these differentially expressed proteins consisted mostly of 'biological process'. The large number of differentially expressed proteins identified here should be highly useful in further elucidating the mechanisms underlying albinism in sea cucumber. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Principal component analysis and cluster analysis of inorganic elements in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiao-Fang; Xue, Chang-Hu; Wang, Yu-Ming; Li, Zhao-Jie; Xue, Yong; Xu, Jie

2011-11-01

The present study is to investigate the feasibility of multi-elements analysis in determination of the geographical origin of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus, and to make choice of the effective tracers in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus geographical origin assessment. The content of the elements such as Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Mo, Cd, Hg and Pb in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus samples from seven places of geographical origin were determined by means of ICP-MS. The results were used for the development of elements database. Cluster analysis(CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to differentiate the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus geographical origin. Three principal components which accounted for over 89% of the total variance were extracted from the standardized data. The results of Q-type cluster analysis showed that the 26 samples could be clustered reasonably into five groups, the classification results were significantly associated with the marine distribution of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus samples. The CA and PCA were the effective methods for elements analysis of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus samples. The content of the mineral elements in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus samples was good chemical descriptors for differentiating their geographical origins.

A fast and robust kinematic model for a 12 DoF hyper-redundant robot positioning: An optimization proposal

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, José; Pereira, Ana I.; Costa, Paulo; Pinto, Andry; Costa, Pedro

2017-07-01

This paper describes an optimization procedure for a robot with 12 degrees of freedom avoiding the inverse kinematics problem, which is a hard task for this type of robot manipulator. This robot can be used to pick and place tasks in complex designs. Combining an accurate and fast direct kinematics model with optimization strategies, it is possible to achieve the joints angles for a desired end-effector position and orientation. The optimization methods stretched simulated annealing algorithm and genetic algorithm were used. The solutions found were validated using data originated by a real and by a simulated robot formed by 12 servomotors with a gripper.

Occidental diffusion of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) 500–1300 CE: two routes to Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Paris, Harry S.; Daunay, Marie-Christine; Janick, Jules

2012-01-01

Background The cucumber, Cucumis sativus, is one of the most widely consumed fruit vegetables the world over. The history of its dispersal to the Occident from its centre of origin, the Indian subcontinent, has been incorrectly understood for some time, due to the confusion of cucumbers with vegetable melons. Iconographic and literary evidence has shown that cucumber was absent in Roman times, up to 500 CE, but present in Europe by late medieval times, 1300. The objective of the present investigation was to determine more accurately when the cucumber arrived in Europe and by what route. Findings and Conclusions The evidence for the movement of C. sativus westward is entirely lexicographical until the 10th century. Syriac, Persian and Byzantine Greek sources suggest the presence of cucumbers, to the east and north-east of the Mediterranean Sea (modern Iran, Iraq and Turkey), by the 6th or 7th century. Arabic medical writings suggest the presence of cucumbers in Spain as early as the mid-9th century and in Tunisia by the early 10th century. Descriptive evidence in Arabic establishes the presence of cucumbers in Andalusia by the second half of the 10th century. Latin translations from Arabic sources indicate the presence of cucumbers in southern Italy by the second half of the 11th century. These writings, together with lexicographical discrepancies in names of cucurbits in late medieval Latin writings, suggest that cucumber was introduced to Europe by two independent diffusions. One diffusion appears to have been overland from Persia into eastern and northern Europe and preceded the Islamic conquests. The other, subsequent diffusion into western and southern Europe, was probably by a mostly maritime route from Persia or the Indian subcontinent into Andalusia. PMID:22104164

Sea Cucumber Resources At Tanjung Pai Waters Padaido Biak Numfor Papua

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eddy Yusron

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Observation on sea cucumber diversity was carried out at coastal waters of Pai and Imbeyomi Islands in the Padaido Island Biak Numfor. Sampling was done by using a transect quadrant of 1 m x 1 m. This sampling and observation on its microhabitat were conducted by snorkling. Analyses on the sea cucumber community structure were based on its frequency of occurance, diversity, and density. The results showed that at both locations 10 species of sea cucumber were found where Holothuria edulis, H. atra, and H. nobilis were predominant common and more evenly distributed than the other species.

A truncated F-box protein confers the dwarfism in cucumber

Science.gov (United States)

Dwarfism is an important plant architecture trait for cucumber breeding. In the present study, we identified a dwarf mutant 406M in cucumber which showed a shorter internode length as compared with its wild type. In a BC1F2 population from the cross of 406M with its wild type parental line 406, the ...

Whole-Body Microbiota of Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) from South Korea for Improved Seafood Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Tae-Yoon; Lee, Jin-Jae; Kim, Bong-Soo; Choi, Sang Ho

2017-10-28

Sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus ) is a popular seafood source in Asia, including South Korea, and its consumption has recently increased with recognition of its medicinal properties. However, because raw sea cucumber contains various microbes, its ingestion can cause foodborne illness. Therefore, analysis of the microbiota in the whole body of sea cucumber can extend our understanding of foodborne illness caused by microorganisms and help to better manage products. We collected 40 sea cucumbers from four different sites in August and November, which are known as the maximum production areas in Korea. The microbiota was analyzed by an Illumina MiSeq system, and bacterial amounts were quantified by real-time PCR. The diversity and bacterial amounts in sea cucumber were higher in August than in November. Alpha-, Beta-, and Gammaproteobacteria were common dominant classes in all samples. However, the microbiota composition differed according to sampling time and site. Staphylococcus warneri and Propionibacterium acnes were commonly detected potential pathogens in August and November samples, respectively. The effect of experimental Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection on the indigenous microbiota of sea cucumber was analyzed at different temperatures, revealing clear alterations of Psychrobacter and Moraxella ; thus, these shifts can be used as indicators for monitoring infection of sea cucumber. Although further studies are needed to clarify and understand the virulence and mechanisms of the identified pathogens of sea cucumber, our study provides a valuable reference for determining the potential of foodborne illness caused by sea cucumber ingestion and to develop monitoring strategies of products using microbiota information.

Robust optimization of robotic pick and place operations for deformable objects through simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bo Jorgensen, Troels; Debrabant, Kristian; Kruger, Norbert

2016-01-01

for the task. The solutions are parameterized in terms of the robot motion and the gripper configuration, and after each simulation various objective scores are determined and combined. This enables the use of various optimization strategies. Based on visual inspection of the most robust solution found...

Use of species-specific PCR for the identification of 10 sea cucumber species

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Jing; Zeng, Ling

2014-11-01

We developed a species-specific PCR method to identify species among dehydrated products of 10 sea cucumber species. Ten reverse species-specific primers designed from the 16S rRNA gene, in combination with one forward universal primer, generated PCR fragments of ca. 270 bp length for each species. The specificity of the PCR assay was tested with DNA of samples of 21 sea cucumber species. Amplification was observed in specific species only. The species-specific PCR method we developed was successfully applied to authenticate species of commercial products of dehydrated sea cucumber, and was proven to be a useful, rapid, and low-cost technique to identify the origin of the sea cucumber product.

Picking at waste facilities – scavenging or entrepreneurshipPicking at waste facilities – scavenging or entrepreneurship

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oelofse, Suzanna HH

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Picking at landfills is a reality at most landfills in South Africa. It is often the poorest community members that resolve to picking as a way of making a living, typically under conditions that are not conducive to their health or safety. However...

Kinematics study and workspace analysis of an articulated robotic arm of a rpar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeb, J.; Rashid, F.; Iqbal, N.

2007-01-01

An itinerant RPAR (Radiation Protection Assistant Robot) has been constructed to assist radiation workers in radiation area which are radiologically hazardous and beyond tile safe approach of radiation workers. The RPAR comprises of a cubicle tri- wheeled platform and a 4-DOF (Four Degree of Freedom) serial type articulated robotic arm. The movement of the platform is controlled by two differential wheeled driving systems. The Kinematics and Manipulator Jacobian of the end-effector (gripper) of the articulated robotic arm mounted on the RPAR were evaluated. The work space analyses of the articulated robotic arm have been carried out. The RPAR is helpful for surveillance of radiation zones, to pick and carry dropdown radioactive samples and sources, in routine radiological operations as well as during an emergency response to a radiological accident. The performance of the RPAR was found satisfactory. (author)

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR CUCUMBER (Cucumis sativus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dell

2011-11-07

Nov 7, 2011 ... affordable and sustainable Protected Intensive Produc- tion System (PIPS) to ... for the production and marketing of cucumber crop. MATERIALS AND ..... production, distribution, and consumption in Asia. {Mubarik A (ed.)}.

Lactobacilli and tartrazine as causative agents of red-color spoilage in cucumber pickle products.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Díaz, I M; Kelling, R E; Hale, S; Breidt, F; McFeeters, R F

2007-09-01

The cucumber pickling industry has sporadically experienced spoilage outbreaks in pickled cucumber products characterized by development of red color on the surface of the fruits. Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus paracasei were isolated from 2 outbreaks of this spoilage that occurred about 15 y apart during the last 3 decades. Both organisms were shown to produce this spoilage when inoculated into pickled cucumbers while concomitantly degrading the azo dye tartrazine (FD&C yellow nr 5). This food dye is used as a yellow coloring in the brine cover solutions of commercial pickled cucumber products. The red color does not occur in the absence of tartrazine, nor when turmeric is used as a yellow coloring in the pickles. Addition of sodium benzoate to the brine cover solutions of a pickled cucumber product, more specifically hamburger dill pickles, prevented growth of these lactic acid bacteria and the development of the red spoilage.

White matter abnormalities in skin picking disorder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grant, Jon E; Odlaug, Brian Lawrence; Hampshire, Adam

2013-01-01

Skin picking disorder (SPD) is characterized by the repetitive and compulsive picking of skin, resulting in tissue damage. Neurocognitive findings in SPD implicate difficulty with response inhibition (suppression of pre-potent motor responses). This function is dependent on the integrity of the r......Skin picking disorder (SPD) is characterized by the repetitive and compulsive picking of skin, resulting in tissue damage. Neurocognitive findings in SPD implicate difficulty with response inhibition (suppression of pre-potent motor responses). This function is dependent on the integrity...... remarkably similar to those previously reported in trichotillomania. This study adds considerable support to the notion that-in addition to the phenomenological and comorbid overlap between SPD and trichotillomania-these disorders likely share overlapping neurobiology....

Nitrate Protects Cucumber Plants Against Fusarium oxysporum by Regulating Citrate Exudation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Min; Sun, Yuming; Gu, Zechen; Wang, Ruirui; Sun, Guomei; Zhu, Chen; Guo, Shiwei; Shen, Qirong

2016-09-01

Fusarium wilt causes severe yield losses in cash crops. Nitrogen plays a critical role in the management of plant disease; however, the regulating mechanism is poorly understood. Using biochemical, physiological, bioinformatic and transcriptome approaches, we analyzed how nitrogen forms regulate the interactions between cucumber plants and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (FOC). Nitrate significantly suppressed Fusarium wilt compared with ammonium in both pot and hydroponic experiments. Fewer FOC colonized the roots and stems under nitrate compared with ammonium supply. Cucumber grown with nitrate accumulated less fusaric acid (FA) after FOC infection and exhibited increased tolerance to chemical FA by decreasing FA absorption and transportation in shoots. A lower citrate concentration was observed in nitrate-grown cucumbers, which was associated with lower MATE (multidrug and toxin compound extrusion) family gene and citrate synthase (CS) gene expression, as well as lower CS activity. Citrate enhanced FOC spore germination and infection, and increased disease incidence and the FOC population in ammonium-treated plants. Our study provides evidence that nitrate protects cucumber plants against F. oxysporum by decreasing root citrate exudation and FOC infection. Citrate exudation is essential for regulating disease development of Fusarium wilt in cucumber plants. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Wavefront picking for 3D tomography and full-waveform inversion

KAUST Repository

AlTheyab, Abdullah

2016-09-08

We have developed an efficient approach for picking firstbreak wavefronts on coarsely sampled time slices of 3D shot gathers. Our objective was to compute a smooth initial velocity model for multiscale full-waveform inversion (FWI). Using interactive software, first-break wavefronts were geometrically modeled on time slices with a minimal number of picks. We picked sparse time slices, performed traveltime tomography, and then compared the predicted traveltimes with the data in-between the picked slices. The picking interval was refined with iterations until the errors in traveltime predictions fell within the limits necessary to avoid cycle skipping in early arrivals FWI. This approach was applied to a 3D ocean-bottom-station data set. Our results indicate that wavefront picking has 28% fewer data slices to pick compared with picking traveltimes in shot gathers. In addition, by using sparse time samples for picking, data storage is reduced by 88%, and therefore allows for a faster visualization and quality control of the picks. Our final traveltime tomogram is sufficient as a starting model for early arrival FWI. © 2016 Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

Growth and yield of cucumber under no-tillage cultivation using rye as a cover crop

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Małgorzata Jelonkiewicz

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In the first two years of study, method of cultivation did not affect the emergence of cucumber seedlings. In the third year, a drought occurring during the spring was the cause of poor seedling emergence on no-tilled plots. Six weeks after seed sowing, the shoots of cucumbers grown on the no-tilled plots were much shorter, especially in the last study year. At the time of cucumber seed sowing, no-tilled soil contained less phosphorus and potassium and in the middle of the fructification period the content of these elements in cucumber leaves was higher under no-tillage cultivation. Additional spring fertilization of rye with ammonium nitrate resulted in a higher N-NO3 content in soil and later in a higher nitrogen content of cucumber leaves. The content of calcium and magnesium in soil and than in cucumber leaves was independent of the cultivation method. In the first two years, method of cultivation did not affect the yield of cucumber fruits and in the third year the yield was much lower under no-tillage because of poor seedling emergence. Moreover, in the third year the fruits were smaller and dry matter content of the fruit was significantly higer under no-tillage cultivation.

Application of Sodium Silicate Enhances Cucumber Resistance to Fusarium Wilt and Alters Soil Microbial Communities

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Xingang Zhou

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Exogenous silicates can enhance plant resistance to pathogens and change soil microbial communities. However, the relationship between changes in soil microbial communities and enhanced plant resistance remains unclear. Here, effects of exogenous sodium silicate on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. seedling resistance to Fusarium wilt caused by the soil-borne pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cucumerinum Owen (FOC were investigated by drenching soil with 2 mM sodium silicate. Soil bacterial and fungal community abundances and compositions were estimated by real-time PCR and high-throughput amplicon sequencing; then, feedback effects of changes in soil biota on cucumber seedling resistance to FOC were assessed. Moreover, effects of sodium silicate on the growth of FOC and Streptomyces DHV3-2, an antagonistic bacterium to FOC, were investigated both in vitro and in the soil environment. Results showed that exogenous sodium silicate enhanced cucumber seedling growth and resistance to FOC. In bare soil, sodium silicate increased bacterial and fungal community abundances and diversities. In cucumber-cultivated soil, sodium silicate increased bacterial community abundances, but decreased fungal community abundances and diversities. Sodium silicate also changed soil bacterial and fungal communality compositions, and especially, decreased the relative abundances of microbial taxa containing plant pathogens but increased these with plant-beneficial potentials. Moreover, sodium silicate increased the abundance of Streptomyces DHV3-2 in soil. Soil biota from cucumber-cultivated soil treated with sodium silicate decreased cucumber seedling Fusarium wilt disease index, and enhanced cucumber seedling growth and defense-related enzyme activities in roots. Sodium silicate at pH 9.85 inhibited FOC abundance in vitro, but did not affect FOC abundance in soil. Overall, our results suggested that, in cucumber-cultivated soil, sodium silicate increased cucumber seedling

7 CFR 319.56-36 - Watermelon, squash, cucumber, and oriental melon from the Republic of Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Watermelon, squash, cucumber, and oriental melon from... QUARANTINE NOTICES Fruits and Vegetables § 319.56-36 Watermelon, squash, cucumber, and oriental melon from the Republic of Korea. Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), squash (Cucurbita maxima), cucumber (Cucumis...

Skin picking disorder in university students

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Odlaug, Brian Lawrence; Lust, Katherine; Schreiber, Liana R N

2013-01-01

This study sought to examine the prevalence of skin picking disorder (SPD) in a university sample and assess associated physical and mental health correlates.......This study sought to examine the prevalence of skin picking disorder (SPD) in a university sample and assess associated physical and mental health correlates....

Multispectral fluorescence imaging technique for discrimination of cucumber (Cucumis Sativus) seed viability

Science.gov (United States)

In this study, we developed a nondestructive method for discriminating viable cucumber (Cucumis sativus) seeds based on hyperspectral fluorescence imaging. The fluorescence spectra of cucumber seeds in the 420–700 nm range were extracted from hyperspectral fluorescence images obtained using 365 nm u...

Recognition and Prediction of Human Actions for Safe Human-Robot Collaboration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Rasmus Skovgaard; Bøgh, Simon; Ceballos, Iker

Collaborative industrial robots are creating new opportunities for collaboration between humans and robots in shared workspaces. In order for such collaboration to be efficient, robots - as well as humans - need to have an understanding of the other's intentions and current ongoing action....... In this work, we propose a method for learning, classifying, and predicting actions taken by a human. Our proposed method is based on the human skeleton model from a Kinect. For demonstration of our approach we chose a typical pick-and-place scenario. Therefore, only arms and upper body are considered......; in total 15 joints. Based on trajectories on these joints, different classes of motion are separated using partitioning around medoids (PAM). Subsequently, SVM is used to train the classes to form a library of human motions. The approach allows run-time detection of when a new motion has been initiated...

Robots in Health and Social Care: A Complementary Technology to Home Care and Telehealthcare?

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Torbjørn S. Dahl

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This article offers a brief overview of most current and potential uses and applications of robotics in health/care and social care, whether commercially ready and available on the market or still at the various stages of research and prototyping. We provide carefully hand-picked examples and pointers to on-going research for each set of identified robotics applications and then discuss the main ingredients for the success of these applications, as well as the main issues surrounding their adoption for everyday use, including sustainability in non-technical environments, patient/user safety and acceptance, ethical considerations such as patient/user privacy, and cost effectiveness. We examine how robotics could (partially fill in some of the identified gaps in current telehealthcare and home care/self-care provisions. The article concludes with a brief glimpse at a couple of emerging developments and promising applications in the field (soft robots and robots for disaster response that are expected to play important roles in the future.

Sea cucumber species identification of family Caudinidae from Surabaya based on morphological and mitochondrial DNA evidence

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Amin, Muhammad Hilman Fu'adil; Pidada, Ida Bagus Rai; Sugiharto, Widyatmoko, Johan Nuari; Irawan, Bambang

2016-03-01

Species identification and taxonomy of sea cucumber remains a challenge problem in some taxa. Caudinidae family of sea cucumber was comerciallized in Surabaya, and it was used as sea cucumber chips. Members of Caudinid sea cucumber have similiar morphology, so it is hard to identify this sea cucumber only from morphological appearance. DNA barcoding is useful method to overcome this problem. The aim of this study was to determine Caudinid specimen of sea cucumber in East Java by morphological and molecular approach. Sample was collected from east coast of Surabaya, then preserved in absolute ethanol. After DNA isolation, Cytochrome Oxydase I (COI) gene amplification was performed using Echinoderm universal primer and PCR product was sequenced. Sequencing result was analyzed and identified in NCBI database using BLAST. Results showed that Caudinid specimen in have closely related to Acaudina molpadioides sequence in GenBank with 86% identity. Morphological data, especially based on ossicle, also showed that the specimen is Acaudina molpadioides.

Nitrate Increased Cucumber Tolerance to Fusarium Wilt by Regulating Fungal Toxin Production and Distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jinyan; Wang, Min; Sun, Yuming; Gu, Zechen; Wang, Ruirui; Saydin, Asanjan; Shen, Qirong; Guo, Shiwei

2017-03-11

Cucumber Fusarium wilt, induced by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (FOC), causes severe losses in cucumber yield and quality. Nitrogen (N), as the most important mineral nutrient for plants, plays a critical role in plant-pathogen interactions. Hydroponic assays were conducted to investigate the effects of different N forms (NH₄⁺ vs. NO₃ ‒ ) and supply levels (low, 1 mM; high, 5 mM) on cucumber Fusarium wilt. The NO₃ ‒ -fed cucumber plants were more tolerant to Fusarium wilt compared with NH₄⁺-fed plants, and accompanied by lower leaf temperature after FOC infection. The disease index decreased as the NO₃ ‒ supply increased but increased with the NH₄⁺ level supplied. Although the FOC grew better under high NO₃ - in vitro, FOC colonization and fusaric acid (FA) production decreased in cucumber plants under high NO₃ - supply, associated with lower leaf membrane injury. There was a positive correlation between the FA content and the FOC number or relative membrane injury. After the exogenous application of FA, less FA accumulated in the leaves under NO₃ - feeding, accompanied with a lower leaf membrane injury. In conclusion, higher NO₃ - supply protected cucumber plants against Fusarium wilt by suppressing FOC colonization and FA production in plants, and increasing the plant tolerance to FA.

Role of cucurbitacin C in resistance to spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) in cucumber (Cucumber sativus L.)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Balkema-Boomstra, A.G.; Zijlstra, S.; Verstappen, F.W.A.; Inggamer, H.; Mercke, P.

2003-01-01

Cucurbitacins are bitter triterpenoid compounds that are toxic to most organisms and occur widely in wild and cultivated Cucurbitaceae. The only cucurbitacin identified in Cucumis sativus is cucurbitacin C. The bitter taste of cucumber has been correlated with resistance to the spider mite

[Effects of intercropping Chinese onion cultivars of different allelopathic potential on cucumber growth and soil micro-environment].

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yang; Wu, Feng-zhi

2011-10-01

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of intercropping various Chinese onion cultivars of different allelopathic potential on the cucumber growth and rhizospheric soil environment. When intercropped with high allelopathic Chinese onion cultivars, the EC value and peroxidase activity of cucumber rhizospheric soil decreased, while the pH value, invertase and catalase activities, and bacterial community diversity increased. The cloning and sequencing results indicated that most DGGE bands amplified from cucumber rhizospheric soil samples showed a high homology to uncultured bacterial species. The common bands were affiliated with Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria, and the differential bacteria bands were affiliated with Proteobacteria and Anaerolineaceae. Rhodospirillales and Acidobacteria were only found in the cucumber rhizospheric soil intercropped with low allelopathic Chinese onion cultivars. Correlation analysis showed that there were significant positive correlations between rhizospheric soil urease activity and cucumber seedlings height, total dry biomass, leaf area, and DGGE band number. It was suggested that intercropping high allelopathic Chinese onion cultivars could establish a good rhizospheric soil micro-environment for cucumber growth, and promote the growth of cucumber seedlings markedly.

Measurement and Modeling of Cucumber Evapotranspiration Under Greenhouse Condition

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R. Moazenzadeh

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: In two last decades, greenhouse cultivation of different plants has developed among Iranian farmers, approximately 45 percent of national greenhouse cultures consisting of cucumber, tomato and pepper. As huge amounts of agricultural water in Iran are extracted from groundwater resources and a large number of Iranian plains are in critical conditions, and because irrigation is the major consumer of water (95 percent, it must be performed in a scientific manner. One approach to this is to obtain the knowledge of the consumptive use of major crops which is named evapotranspiration (ETc. Materials and Methods: This research was carried out in a north-south greenhouse belonging to Plant Protection Research Institute, located on northern Tehran, Iran, for estimating greenhouse cucumber evapotranspiration. Trickle irrigation method was used, and meteorological data such as temperature, humidity and solar radiation were measured daily. Physical and chemical measurements were conducted and electric conductivity (EC and pH values of 3.42 dsm-1 and 7.19, respectively, were recorded. Soil texture and bulk density were measured as to be sandy loam and 1.4 gr cm-3, respectively. In order to measure the actual evapotranspiration, cucumber seeds were also cultured in six similar microlysimeters and irrigation of each microlysimeter was based on FC moisture. If any drained water was available, it was measured. Finally, with measured meteorological characteristics in greenhouse which are suggested to have an effect on ET and were measurable, the best multiple linear regression and artificial neural network were established. The average data from three microlysimeters were used for calibration and that from three other microlysimeters were used for validation set. Results and Discussion: In the former case, when we used one multiple linear regression with measurable meteorological variables inside the greenhouse to predict cucumber ET for the entire

Influence of flow velocity on motor behavior of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Yang; Zhang, Libin; Lin, Chenggang; Sun, Jiamin; Kan, Rentao; Yang, Hongsheng

2015-05-15

The influence of flow velocity on the motor behavior of the sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus was investigated in the laboratory. Cameras were used to record sea cucumber movements and behavior analysis software was used to measure the distance traveled, time spent, upstream or downstream of the start position and the speed of movements. In general, the mean velocity of A. japonicus was below 0.7mms(-1). The maximum velocity recorded for all the sea cucumbers tested was for a large individual (89.25±17.11g), at a flow rate of 4.6±0.5cms(-1). Medium sized (19.68±5.53g) and large individuals moved significantly faster than small individuals (2.65±1.24g) at the same flow rate. A. japonicus moved significantly faster when there was a moderate current (4.6±0.5cms(-1) and 14.7±0.3cms(-1)), compared with the fast flow rate (29.3±3.7cms(-1)) and when there was no flow (0cms(-1)). Sea cucumbers did not show positive rheotaxis in general, but did move in a downstream direction at faster current speeds. Large, medium and small sized individuals moved downstream at the fastest current speed tested, 29.3±3.7cms(-1). When there was no water flow, sea cucumbers tended to move in an irregular pattern. The movement patterns show that the sea cucumber, A. japonicus can move across the direction of flow, and can move both upstream and downstream along the direction of flow. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Economical analysis and relation between energy inputs and yield of greenhouse cucumber production in Iran

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohammadi, Ali; Omid, Mahmoud [Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, University of Tehran, Karaj (Iran)

2010-01-15

This paper studies the energy balance between the input and the output per unit area for greenhouse cucumber production. For this purpose, the data on 43 cucumber production greenhouses in the Tehran province, Iran, were collected and analyzed. The results indicated that a total energy input of 148836.76 MJ ha{sup -1} was consumed for cucumber production. Diesel fuel (with 41.94%) and chemical fertilizers (with 19.69%) were amongst the highest energy inputs for cucumber production. The energy productivity was estimated as 0.80 kg MJ{sup -1}. The ratio of energy output to energy input was approximately 0.64. Results indicate 10.93% and 89.07% of total energy input was in renewable and non-renewable forms, respectively. The regression results revealed that the contribution of energy inputs on crop yield (except for fertilizers and seeds energies) was significant. The human labour energy had the highest impact (0.35) among the other inputs in greenhouse cucumber production. Econometric analysis indicated that the total cost of production for one hectare of cucumber production was around 33425.70$. Accordingly, the benefit-cost ratio was estimated as 2.58. (author)

Effects of dietary nucleotides on growth, non-specific immune response and disease resistance of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Zehong; Yi, Lina; Xu, Wei; Zhou, Huihui; Zhang, Yanjiao; Zhang, Wenbing; Mai, Kangsen

2015-11-01

A 9-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary nucleotides (NT) on growth, immune response and disease resistance of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas (initial weight: 5.87 ± 0.03 g). Four graded levels of dietary NT were designed as 0, 150, 375 and 700 mg/kg, respectively. After the feeding trial, sea cucumbers were challenged with Vibrio splendidus for the determination of disease resistance. The results showed that the specific growth rates were significantly higher in sea cucumber fed the diet with 375 mg/kg NT than those fed the basal diet without NT supplementation (P sea cucumber fed diets with nucleotides (≥ 375 mg/kg) had significantly higher phagocytic activities in coelomic fluid (P 0.05). After being challenged with V. splendidus, the cumulative mortalities of sea cucumber fed diets with 150 and 375 mg/kg NT were significantly lower than that in the treatment without dietary nucleotide supplementation (P sea cucumber in vivo. In conclusion, it was showed that dietary NT does increase the growth performance, non-specific immunity and disease resistance of sea cucumber. The optimum dietary NT supplementation level for sea cucumber was found to be 375 mg/kg. The application of dietary NT may present a novel strategy for health management in sea cucumber's aquaculture. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Medieval herbal iconography and lexicography of Cucumis (cucumber and melon, Cucurbitaceae) in the Occident, 1300-1458.

Science.gov (United States)

Paris, Harry S; Janick, Jules; Daunay, Marie-Christine

2011-09-01

The genus Cucumis contains two species of important vegetable crops, C. sativus, cucumber, and C. melo, melon. Melon has iconographical and textual records from lands of the Mediterranean Basin dating back to antiquity, but cucumber does not. The goal of this study was to obtain an improved understanding of the history of these crops in the Occident. Medieval images purportedly of Cucumis were examined, their specific identity was determined and they were compared for originality, accuracy and the lexicography of their captions. The manuscripts having accurate, informative images are derived from Italy and France and were produced between 1300 and 1458. All have an illustration of cucumber but not all contain an image of melon. The cucumber fruits are green, unevenly cylindrical with an approx. 2:1 length-to-width ratio. Most of the images show the cucumbers marked by sparsely distributed, large dark dots, but images from northern France show them as having densely distributed, small black dots. The different size, colour and distribution reflect the different surface wartiness and spininess of modern American and French pickling cucumbers. The melon fruits are green, oval to serpentine, closely resembling the chate and snake vegetable melons, but not sweet melons. In nearly all manuscripts of Italian provenance, the cucumber image is labelled with the Latin caption citruli, or similar, plural diminuitive of citrus (citron, Citrus medica). However, in manuscripts of French provenance, the cucumber image is labelled cucumeres, which is derived from the classical Latin epithet cucumis for snake melon. The absence of melon in some manuscripts and the expropriation of the Latin cucumis/cucumer indicate replacement of vegetable melons by cucumbers during the medieval period in Europe. One image, from British Library ms. Sloane 4016, has a caption that allows tracing of the word 'gherkin' back to languages of the geographical nativity of C. sativus, the Indian

The sea cucumber genome provides insights into morphological evolution and visceral regeneration.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaojun; Sun, Lina; Yuan, Jianbo; Sun, Yamin; Gao, Yi; Zhang, Libin; Li, Shihao; Dai, Hui; Hamel, Jean-François; Liu, Chengzhang; Yu, Yang; Liu, Shilin; Lin, Wenchao; Guo, Kaimin; Jin, Songjun; Xu, Peng; Storey, Kenneth B; Huan, Pin; Zhang, Tao; Zhou, Yi; Zhang, Jiquan; Lin, Chenggang; Li, Xiaoni; Xing, Lili; Huo, Da; Sun, Mingzhe; Wang, Lei; Mercier, Annie; Li, Fuhua; Yang, Hongsheng; Xiang, Jianhai

2017-10-01

Apart from sharing common ancestry with chordates, sea cucumbers exhibit a unique morphology and exceptional regenerative capacity. Here we present the complete genome sequence of an economically important sea cucumber, A. japonicus, generated using Illumina and PacBio platforms, to achieve an assembly of approximately 805 Mb (contig N50 of 190 Kb and scaffold N50 of 486 Kb), with 30,350 protein-coding genes and high continuity. We used this resource to explore key genetic mechanisms behind the unique biological characters of sea cucumbers. Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses revealed the presence of marker genes associated with notochord and gill slits, suggesting that these chordate features were present in ancestral echinoderms. The unique shape and weak mineralization of the sea cucumber adult body were also preliminarily explained by the contraction of biomineralization genes. Genome, transcriptome, and proteome analyses of organ regrowth after induced evisceration provided insight into the molecular underpinnings of visceral regeneration, including a specific tandem-duplicated prostatic secretory protein of 94 amino acids (PSP94)-like gene family and a significantly expanded fibrinogen-related protein (FREP) gene family. This high-quality genome resource will provide a useful framework for future research into biological processes and evolution in deuterostomes, including remarkable regenerative abilities that could have medical applications. Moreover, the multiomics data will be of prime value for commercial sea cucumber breeding programs.

Development of Efficient Screening Methods for Resistant Cucumber Plants to Meloidogyne incognita

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sung Min Hwang

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Root-knot nematodes represent a significant problem in cucumber, causing reduction in yield and quality. To develop screening methods for resistance of cucumber to root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita, development of root-knot nematode of four cucumber cultivars (‘Dragonsamchuk’, ‘Asiastrike’, ‘Nebakja’ and ‘Hanelbakdadaki’ according to several conditions such as inoculum concentration, plant growth stage and transplanting period was investigated by the number of galls and egg masses produced in each seedling 45 days after inoculation. There was no difference in galls and egg masses according to the tested condition except for inoculum concentration. Reproduction of the nematode on all the tested cultivars according to inoculum concentration increased in a dose-dependent manner. On the basis of the result, the optimum conditions for root-knot development on the cultivars is to transplant period of 1 week, inoculum concentration of 5,000 eggs/plant and plant growth stage of 3-week-old in a greenhouse (25 ± 5°C. In addition, under optimum conditions, resistance of 45 commercial cucumber cultivars was evaluated. One rootstock cultivar, Union was moderately resistant to the root-knot nematode. However, no significant difference was in the resistance of the others cultivar. According to the result, we suggest an efficient screening method for new resistant cucumber to the root-knot nematode, M. incognita.

The sea cucumber genome provides insights into morphological evolution and visceral regeneration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaojun Zhang

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Apart from sharing common ancestry with chordates, sea cucumbers exhibit a unique morphology and exceptional regenerative capacity. Here we present the complete genome sequence of an economically important sea cucumber, A. japonicus, generated using Illumina and PacBio platforms, to achieve an assembly of approximately 805 Mb (contig N50 of 190 Kb and scaffold N50 of 486 Kb, with 30,350 protein-coding genes and high continuity. We used this resource to explore key genetic mechanisms behind the unique biological characters of sea cucumbers. Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses revealed the presence of marker genes associated with notochord and gill slits, suggesting that these chordate features were present in ancestral echinoderms. The unique shape and weak mineralization of the sea cucumber adult body were also preliminarily explained by the contraction of biomineralization genes. Genome, transcriptome, and proteome analyses of organ regrowth after induced evisceration provided insight into the molecular underpinnings of visceral regeneration, including a specific tandem-duplicated prostatic secretory protein of 94 amino acids (PSP94-like gene family and a significantly expanded fibrinogen-related protein (FREP gene family. This high-quality genome resource will provide a useful framework for future research into biological processes and evolution in deuterostomes, including remarkable regenerative abilities that could have medical applications. Moreover, the multiomics data will be of prime value for commercial sea cucumber breeding programs.

Spatial Programming for Industrial Robots through Task Demonstration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jens Lambrecht

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract We present an intuitive system for the programming of industrial robots using markerless gesture recognition and mobile augmented reality in terms of programming by demonstration. The approach covers gesture-based task definition and adaption by human demonstration, as well as task evaluation through augmented reality. A 3D motion tracking system and a handheld device establish the basis for the presented spatial programming system. In this publication, we present a prototype toward the programming of an assembly sequence consisting of several pick-and-place tasks. A scene reconstruction provides pose estimation of known objects with the help of the 2D camera of the handheld. Therefore, the programmer is able to define the program through natural bare-hand manipulation of these objects with the help of direct visual feedback in the augmented reality application. The program can be adapted by gestures and transmitted subsequently to an arbitrary industrial robot controller using a unified interface. Finally, we discuss an application of the presented spatial programming approach toward robot-based welding tasks.

Robot Learning from Demonstration: A Task-level Planning Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Staffan Ekvall

2008-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we deal with the problem of learning by demonstration, task level learning and planning for robotic applications that involve object manipulation. Preprogramming robots for execution of complex domestic tasks such as setting a dinner table is of little use, since the same order of subtasks may not be conceivable in the run time due to the changed state of the world. In our approach, we aim to learn the goal of the task and use a task planner to reach the goal given different initial states of the world. For some tasks, there are underlying constraints that must be fulfille, and knowing just the final goal is not sufficient. We propose two techniques for constraint identification. In the first case, the teacher can directly instruct the system about the underlying constraints. In the second case, the constraints are identified by the robot itself based on multiple observations. The constraints are then considered in the planning phase, allowing the task to be executed without violating any of them. We evaluate our work on a real robot performing pick-and-place tasks.

Nitrate Increased Cucumber Tolerance to Fusarium Wilt by Regulating Fungal Toxin Production and Distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinyan Zhou

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Cucumber Fusarium wilt, induced by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (FOC, causes severe losses in cucumber yield and quality. Nitrogen (N, as the most important mineral nutrient for plants, plays a critical role in plant–pathogen interactions. Hydroponic assays were conducted to investigate the effects of different N forms (NH4+ vs. NO3‒ and supply levels (low, 1 mM; high, 5 mM on cucumber Fusarium wilt. The NO3‒-fed cucumber plants were more tolerant to Fusarium wilt compared with NH4+-fed plants, and accompanied by lower leaf temperature after FOC infection. The disease index decreased as the NO3‒ supply increased but increased with the NH4+ level supplied. Although the FOC grew better under high NO3− in vitro, FOC colonization and fusaric acid (FA production decreased in cucumber plants under high NO3− supply, associated with lower leaf membrane injury. There was a positive correlation between the FA content and the FOC number or relative membrane injury. After the exogenous application of FA, less FA accumulated in the leaves under NO3− feeding, accompanied with a lower leaf membrane injury. In conclusion, higher NO3− supply protected cucumber plants against Fusarium wilt by suppressing FOC colonization and FA production in plants, and increasing the plant tolerance to FA.

IBT-based quantitative proteomics identifies potential regulatory proteins involved in pigmentation of purple sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Lili; Sun, Lina; Liu, Shilin; Li, Xiaoni; Zhang, Libin; Yang, Hongsheng

2017-09-01

Sea cucumbers are an important economic species and exhibit high yield value among aquaculture animals. Purple sea cucumbers are very rare and beautiful and have stable hereditary patterns. In this study, isobaric tags (IBT) were first used to reveal the molecular mechanism of pigmentation in the body wall of the purple sea cucumber. We analyzed the proteomes of purple sea cucumber in early pigmentation stage (Pa), mid pigmentation stage (Pb) and late pigmentation stage (Pc), resulting in the identification of 5580 proteins, including 1099 differentially expressed proteins in Pb: Pa and 339 differentially expressed proteins in Pc: Pb. GO and KEGG analyses revealed possible differentially expressed proteins, including"melanogenesis", "melanosome", "melanoma", "pigment-biosynthetic process", "Epidermis development", "Ras-signaling pathway", "Wnt-signaling pathway", "response to UV light", and "tyrosine metabolism", involved in pigment synthesis and regulation in purple sea cucumbers. The large number of differentially expressed proteins identified here should be highly useful in further elucidating the mechanisms underlying pigmentation in sea cucumbers. Furthermore, these results may also provide the base for further identification of proteins involved in resistance mechanisms against melanoma, albinism, UV damage, and other diseases in sea cucumbers. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Mobile app for human-interaction with sitter robots

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Sumit Kumar; Sahu, Ankita; Popa, Dan O.

2017-05-01

Human environments are often unstructured and unpredictable, thus making the autonomous operation of robots in such environments is very difficult. Despite many remaining challenges in perception, learning, and manipulation, more and more studies involving assistive robots have been carried out in recent years. In hospital environments, and in particular in patient rooms, there are well-established practices with respect to the type of furniture, patient services, and schedule of interventions. As a result, adding a robot into semi-structured hospital environments is an easier problem to tackle, with results that could have positive benefits to the quality of patient care and the help that robots can offer to nursing staff. When working in a healthcare facility, robots need to interact with patients and nurses through Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) that are intuitive to use, they should maintain awareness of surroundings, and offer safety guarantees for humans. While fully autonomous operation for robots is not yet technically feasible, direct teleoperation control of the robot would also be extremely cumbersome, as it requires expert user skills, and levels of concentration not available to many patients. Therefore, in our current study we present a traded control scheme, in which the robot and human both perform expert tasks. The human-robot communication and control scheme is realized through a mobile tablet app that can be customized for robot sitters in hospital environments. The role of the mobile app is to augment the verbal commands given to a robot through natural speech, camera and other native interfaces, while providing failure mode recovery options for users. Our app can access video feed and sensor data from robots, assist the user with decision making during pick and place operations, monitor the user health over time, and provides conversational dialogue during sitting sessions. In this paper, we present the software and hardware framework that

Analysis of fatty acid composition of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus using multivariate statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Qinzeng; Gao, Fei; Xu, Qiang; Yang, Hongsheng

2014-11-01

Fatty acids (FAs) provide energy and also can be used to trace trophic relationships among organisms. Sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus goes into a state of aestivation during warm summer months. We examined fatty acid profiles in aestivated and non-aestivated A. japonicus using multivariate analyses (PERMANOVA, MDS, ANOSIM, and SIMPER). The results indicate that the fatty acid profiles of aestivated and non-aestivated sea cucumbers differed significantly. The FAs that were produced by bacteria and brown kelp contributed the most to the differences in the fatty acid composition of aestivated and nonaestivated sea cucumbers. Aestivated sea cucumbers may synthesize FAs from heterotrophic bacteria during early aestivation, and long chain FAs such as eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that produced from intestinal degradation, are digested during deep aestivation. Specific changes in the fatty acid composition of A. japonicus during aestivation needs more detailed study in the future.

Modification of the cellular heat sensitivity of cucumber by growth under supplemental ultraviolet-B radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caldwell, C.R.

1994-01-01

The effect of ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation on the thermal sensitivity of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) was studied using UV-B-sensitive cv Poinsett 76 and UV-B-resistant cv Ashley grown under control and elevated (300 mW m -2 ) UV-B radiation levels. Using both cotyledon and leaf discs, the ability of the tissue to reduce triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) was determined after treatment at 50 degrees C for various times. Semilogarithmic plots of TTC reduction as a function of time at 50 degrees were curvilinear. They were monophasic for the control cucumber and biphasic for cucumber grown in the presence of elevated UV-B. Treatment of cucumber plants at 37 degrees C for 24 h or of tissue discs at acute UV-B levels for 1 h further modified their response to elevated temperature. These results suggest that growth of cucumber under enhanced UV-B radiation levels increased its ability to withstand elevated temperatures. 19 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

Immunological comparison of the NADH:nitrate reductase from different cucumber tissues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolanta Marciniak

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Soluble nitrate reductase from cucumber roots (Cucumis sativus L. was isolated and purified with blue-Sepharose 4B. Specific antibodies against the NR protein were raised by immunization of a goat. Using polyclonal antibodies anti-NR properties of the nitrate reductase from various cucumber tissues were examined. Experiments showed difference in immuno-logical properties of nitrate reductase (NR from cotyledon roots and leaves.

Sea cucumber saponin liposomes ameliorate obesity-induced inflammation and insulin resistance in high-fat-diet-fed mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Cheng; Han, Xiuqing; Dong, Ping; Li, Zhaojie; Yanagita, Teruyoshi; Xue, Changhu; Zhang, Tiantian; Wang, Yuming

2018-02-21

Obesity has become a worldwide concern in recent years, which may cause many diseases. Much attention has been paid to food components that are considered to be beneficial in preventing chronic metabolic diseases. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of sea cucumber saponin liposomes on certain metabolic markers associated with obesity. C57/BL6 mice fed with high-fat diet were treated with different forms of sea cucumber saponins for eight weeks. The results showed that liposomes exhibited better effects on anti-obesity and anti-hyperlipidemia activities than the common form of sea cucumber saponins. Sea cucumber saponin liposomes could also effectively alleviate adipose tissue inflammation by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine releases and macrophage infiltration. Moreover, sea cucumber saponin liposomes improved insulin resistance by altering the uptake and utilization of glucose. Taken together, our results indicated that the intake of sea cucumber saponin liposomes might be able to ameliorate obesity-induced inflammation and insulin resistance.

Multiple Factors Affect Socioeconomics and Wellbeing of Artisanal Sea Cucumber Fishers

Science.gov (United States)

Ngaluafe, Poasi; Foale, Simon J.; Cocks, Nicole; Cullis, Brian R.; Lalavanua, Watisoni

2016-01-01

Small-scale fisheries are important to livelihoods and subsistence seafood consumption of millions of fishers. Sea cucumbers are fished worldwide for export to Asia, yet few studies have assessed factors affecting socioeconomics and wellbeing among fishers. We interviewed 476 men and women sea cucumber fishers at multiple villages within multiple locations in Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga and New Caledonia using structured questionnaires. Low rates of subsistence consumption confirmed a primary role of sea cucumbers in income security. Prices of sea cucumbers sold by fishers varied greatly among countries, depending on the species. Gender variation in landing prices could be due to women catching smaller sea cucumbers or because some traders take advantage of them. Dissatisfaction with fishery income was common (44% of fishers), especially for i-Kiribati fishers, male fishers, and fishers experiencing difficulty selling their catch, but was uncorrelated with sale prices. Income dissatisfaction worsened with age. The number of livelihood activities averaged 2.2–2.5 across countries, and varied significantly among locations. Sea cucumbers were often a primary source of income to fishers, especially in Tonga. Other common livelihood activities were fishing other marine resources, copra production in Kiribati, agriculture in Fiji, and salaried jobs in New Caledonia. Fishing other coastal and coral reef resources was the most common fall-back livelihood option if fishers were forced to exit the fishery. Our data highlight large disparities in subsistence consumption, gender-related price equity, and livelihood diversity among parallel artisanal fisheries. Improvement of supply chains in dispersed small-scale fisheries appears as a critical need for enhancing income and wellbeing of fishers. Strong evidence for co-dependence among small-scale fisheries, through fall-back livelihood preferences of fishers, suggests that resource managers must mitigate concomitant effects on

Kinematics analysis on hinges of robot arm gripper for harmful chemical handling

Science.gov (United States)

Razali, Zol Bahri; Kader, Mohamed Mydin M. Abdul; Mustafa, Nurul Fahimah; Daud, Mohd Hisam

2017-09-01

The development of manufacturing industry is booming the application of industrial robot, and proportional to the use of robot arm. Some of the purpose of robot arm gripper is to sort things and place to the proper place. And some of the things are harmful to human, such as harmful chemical. By using robot arm to do picking and placing, it is expected to replace human tasks, as well as to reduce human from the harmful job. The problem of the robot arm gripper, most likely the problem of hinge, thus the analysis on the hinges of robot arm gripper to prevent claw is essential. By using robot arm, instead of human, is labored to do the harmful tasks and unexpected accident happen, costs and expenses in handling injured employee due to the harmful chemicals can be minimized. Thus the objective of this project is to make a kinematics analysis on the hinges of the robot arm gripper. Suitable material such as steel structure has also been selected for the construction of this hinges. This material has properties associated with compressive strength, fire resistance, corrosion and has a shape that is easy to move. Solid Works and ANSYS software is used to create animated movement on the design model and to detect deficiencies in the hinges. Detail methodology is described in this paper.

Kinematic-Kinetic-Rigidity Evaluation of a Six Axis Robot Performing a Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Karagulle

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Six axis serial robots of different sizes are widely used for pick and place, welding and various other operations in industry. Developments in mechatronics, which is the synergistic integration of mechanism, electronics and computer control to achieve a functional system, offer effective solutions for the design of such robots. The integrated analysis of robots is usually used in the design stage. In this study, it is offered that the integrated analysis of robots can also be used at the application stage. SolidWorks, CosmosMotion and ABAQUS programs are used with an integrated approach. Integration software (IS is developed in Visual Basic by using the application programming interface (API capabilities of these programs. An ABB-IRB1400 industrial robot is considered for the study. Different trajectories are considered. Each task is first evaluated by a kinematic analysis. If the task is out of the workspace, then the task is cancelled. This evaluation can also be done by robot programs like Robot Studio. It is proposed that the task must be evaluated by considering the limits for velocities, motor actuation torques, reaction forces, natural frequencies, displacements and stresses due to the flexibility. The evaluation is done using kinematic, kinetic and rigidity evaluation charts. The approach given in this work can be used for the optimal usage of robots.

Thick root of cucumber: other susceptible plants and the effect of pH

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaag, van der D.J.; Paternotte, P.; Hamelink, R.

2002-01-01

Thick root is a relatively new disorder of cucumber grown in artificial substrates. Plants of cucumber, tomato, sweet pepper, lupin, anthurium, Cucurbita ficifolia, C. maxima and two lines from crosses between C. maxima and C. moschata were grown in thick root disease (TRD)-infested nutrient

Underwater image quality enhancement of sea cucumbers based on improved histogram equalization and wavelet transform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xi Qiao

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Sea cucumbers usually live in an environment where lighting and visibility are generally not controllable, which cause the underwater image of sea cucumbers to be distorted, blurred, and severely attenuated. Therefore, the valuable information from such an image cannot be fully extracted for further processing. To solve the problems mentioned above and improve the quality of the underwater images of sea cucumbers, pre-processing of a sea cucumber image is attracting increasing interest. This paper presents a new method based on contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization and wavelet transform (CLAHE-WT to enhance the sea cucumber image quality. CLAHE was used to process the underwater image for increasing contrast based on the Rayleigh distribution, and WT was used for de-noising based on a soft threshold. Qualitative analysis indicated that the proposed method exhibited better performance in enhancing the quality and retaining the image details. For quantitative analysis, the test with 120 underwater images showed that for the proposed method, the mean square error (MSE, peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR, and entropy were 49.2098, 13.3909, and 6.6815, respectively. The proposed method outperformed three established methods in enhancing the visual quality of sea cucumber underwater gray image.

Maturity Gonad Sea Cucumber Holothuria scabra Under The Month Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Penina Tua Rahantoknam, Santi

2017-10-01

Gonad maturity level of the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra is important to note for selection of parent ready spawn. Sea cucumbers are giving a reaction to the treatment of excitatory spawn mature individuals only. For the determination of the level of maturity of gonads of sea cucumbers, the necessary observation of the gonads are microscopic, macroscopic and gonad maturity gonado somatic indeks (GSI). GSI value is important to know the changes that occur in the gonads quantitatively, so that time can be presumed spawning (Effendie, 1997). Reproductive cycle can be determined by observing the evolution of GSI. The study of sea cucumbers Holothuria scabra gonad maturity conducted in Langgur, Southeast Maluku. Observations were made at every cycle of the moon is the full moon phase (BP) and new moon (BB) in the period January 29, 2017 until July 23, 2017. Observations H. scabra gonad maturity level is done with surgery, observation and calculation GSI gonad histology. GSI highest value obtained in May that full moon cycle at 90% of individuals that are in the spawning stage (phase 5), then 70% of the individuals that are in the spawning stage (phase 5) in March that the full moon cycle. The results obtained show that the peak spawning H. scabra period January 2017 to July 2017 occurred on the full moon cycle in May.

Ecological effects of co-culturing sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) with scallop Chlamys farreri in earthen ponds

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Yichao; Dong, Shuanglin; Qin, Chuanxin; Wang, Fang; Tian, Xiangli; Gao, Qinfeng

2012-01-01

Monthly changes in sedimentation and sediment properties were studied for three different culture treatments: sea cucumber monoculture (Mc), sea cucumber and scallop polyculture (Ps-c) and scallop monoculture (Ms). Results indicated that the survival rate of sea cucumber was significantly higher in Ps-c cultures than in Mc cultures. Sea cucumber yield was 69.6% higher in Ps-c culture than in Mc culture. No significant differences in body weight and scallop shell length were found between Ps-c and Ms cultures. The mean sedimentation rate of total particulate matter (TPM) was 72.2 g/(m2·d) in Ps-c cultures, with a maximum of 119.7 g/(m2·d), which was markedly higher than that of Mc (mean value). Sedimentation rates of organic matter (OM), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) in Ps-c cultures were also significantly higher than those in Mc cultures. TOC and TN contents of sediment increased rapidly in the first 5 months in Ms cultures and remained at a high level. TOC and TN contents in Mc and Ps-c cultures decreased during sea cucumber feeding seasons and increased during sea cucumber dormancy periods (summer and winter). The study demonstrates that co-culture of sea cucumber and scallop in earthen ponds is an alternative way to alleviate nutrient loads and improve water quality in coastal aquaculture systems. Moreover, it provides the additional benefit of an increased sea cucumber yield.

Preventive Intra Oral Treatment of Sea Cucumber Ameliorate OVA-Induced Allergic Airway Inflammation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Da-In; Park, Mi-Kyung; Kang, Shin Ae; Choi, Jun-Ho; Kang, Seok-Jung; Lee, Jeong-Yeol; Yu, Hak Sun

2016-01-01

Sea cucumber extracts have potent biological effects, including anti-viral, anti-cancer, antibacterial, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammation effects. To understand their anti-asthma effects, we induced allergic airway inflammation in mice after 7 oral administrations of the extract. The hyper-responsiveness value in mice with ovalbumin (OVA)-alum-induced asthma after oral injection of sea cucumber extracts was significantly lower than that in the OVA-alum-induced asthma group. In addition, the number of eosinophils in the lungs of asthma-induced mice pre-treated with sea cucumber extract was significantly decreased compared to that of PBS pre-treated mice. Additionally, CD4[Formula: see text]CD25[Formula: see text]Foxp3[Formula: see text]T (regulatory T; Treg) cells significantly increased in mesenteric lymph nodes after 7 administrations of the extract. These results suggest that sea cucumber extract can ameliorate allergic airway inflammation via Treg cell activation and recruitment to the lung.

High frequency permeameter with semi-rigid pick-up coil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Sung-Yong; Shin, Kwang-Ho . E-mail : khshin@star.ks.ac.kr; Kim, Jong-sung; Kim, Young-Hak; Lim, Sang-Ho; Sa-gong, Geon

2006-01-01

In this study, we propose the application of semi-rigid cable loop as a single turn shielded loop pick-up coil for the high frequency permeameter. Since the semi-rigid cable pick-up coil has simple structure, it is very easy to make the pick-up coil with bending and conventional soldering. The permeability of cobalt base amorphous ribbon was investigated using the developed permeameter for demonstrating its performance. The permeability of the amorphous ribbon was driven from the S-parameters measured using a network analyzer and permameter having the semi-rigid pick-up coil

Performance of diamond and point attack coal cutter picks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Y. [CSIRO, Brisbane, Qld. (Australia). Division of Exploration and Mining

1996-12-31

This paper presents results of laboratory experiments and field trials of PDC (Polycrystalline Diamond Compact) and PA (Point Attack) coal cutter picks. Laboratory cutting tests included linear rock and coal cutting and turning rock cutting. The following parameters were measured to assess performance of PDC and PA cutter picks: cutting force, normal force, specific energy consumption, yield, dust generation and ignitional characteristics (temperature rise). Field trials were conducted on a longwall shearer. Performance of both types of pick interims of pick life and dust generation were assessed. 3 refs., 18 figs., 3 tabs.

Analysis of Pick-Up Development in Punching

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsson, David Dam; Bay, Niels; Andreasen, Jan Lasson

2002-01-01

The development of pick-up of work piece material on the punch surface with increasing number of strokes during punching of stainless steel sheet is investigated applying Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), 3D roughness mapping and measurements of the backstroke force. It is found that pick...

Robotics and remote systems for hazardous environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamshidi, M.; Eicker, P.

1993-01-01

This is the first volume in a series of books to be published by Prentice Hall on Environmental and Intelligent Manufacturing Systems. The editors have assembled an interdisciplinary collection of authors from industry, government, and academia, that provide a broad range of expertise on robotics and remote systems. Readily accessible to practicing engineers, the book provides case studies and introduces new technology applicable to remote operations in unstructured and/or hazardous environments. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the US Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to apply robotic technology to assist in the operations at hazardous waste sites. The next chapter focuses on the theory and implementation of robust impedance control for robotic manipulators. Chapter 3 presents a discussion on the integration of failure tolerance into robotic systems. The next two chapters address the issue of sensory feedback and its indispensable role in remote and/or hazardous environments. Chapter 6 presents numerous examples of robots and telemanipulators that have been applied for various tasks at the DOE's Savannah River Site. The following chapter picks up on this theme and discusses the fundamental paradigm shifts that are required in artificial intelligence for robots to deal with hazardous, unstructured, and dynamic environments. Chapter 8 returns to the issue of impedance control first raised in Chapter 2. While the majority of the applications discussed in this book are related to the nuclear industry, chapter 9 considers applying telerobotics for the control of traditional heavy machinery that is widely used in forestry, mining, and construction. The final chapter of the book returns to the topic of artificial intelligence's role in producing increased autonomy for robotic systems and provides an interesting counterpoint to the philosophy of reactive control discussed earlier

A Proposed Analytical Model for Integrated Pick-and-Sort Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Recep KIZILASLAN

2013-11-01

Full Text Available In this study we present an analytical approach for integration of order picking and sortation operations which are the most important, labour intensive and costly activity for warehouses. Main aim is to investigate order picking and sorting efficiencies under different design issues as a function of order wave size. Integrated analytical model is proposed to estimate the optimum order picking and order sortation efficiency. The model, which has been tested by simulations with different illustrative examples, calculates the optimum wave size that solves the trade-off between picking and sorting operations and makes the order picking and sortations efficiency maximum. Our model also allow system designer to predict the order picking and sorting capacity for different system configurations. This study presents an innovative approach for integrated warehouse operations.

PICK1 interacts with ABP/GRIP to regulate AMPA receptor trafficking.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Wei; Ziff, Edward B

2005-08-04

PICK1 and ABP/GRIP bind to the AMPA receptor (AMPAR) GluR2 subunit C terminus. Transfer of the receptor from ABP/GRIP to PICK1, facilitated by GluR2 S880 phosphorylation, may initiate receptor trafficking. Here we report protein interactions that regulate these steps. The PICK1 BAR domain interacts intermolecularly with the ABP/GRIP linker II region and intramolecularly with the PICK1 PDZ domain. Binding of PKCalpha or GluR2 to the PICK1 PDZ domain disrupts the intramolecular interaction and facilitates the PICK1 BAR domain association with ABP/GRIP. Interference with the PICK1-ABP/GRIP interaction impairs S880 phosphorylation of GluR2 by PKC and decreases the constitutive surface expression of GluR2, the NMDA-induced endocytosis of GluR2, and recycling of internalized GluR2. We suggest that the PICK1 interaction with ABP/GRIP is a critical step in controlling GluR2 trafficking.

High-throughput sequencing, characterization and detection of new and conserved cucumber miRNAs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Germán Martínez

Full Text Available Micro RNAS (miRNAs are a class of endogenous small non coding RNAs involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. In plants, a great number of conserved and specific miRNAs, mainly arising from model species, have been identified to date. However less is known about the diversity of these regulatory RNAs in vegetal species with agricultural and/or horticultural importance. Here we report a combined approach of bioinformatics prediction, high-throughput sequencing data and molecular methods to analyze miRNAs populations in cucumber (Cucumis sativus plants. A set of 19 conserved and 6 known but non-conserved miRNA families were found in our cucumber small RNA dataset. We also identified 7 (3 with their miRNA* strand not previously described miRNAs, candidates to be cucumber-specific. To validate their description these new C. sativus miRNAs were detected by northern blot hybridization. Additionally, potential targets for most conserved and new miRNAs were identified in cucumber genome.In summary, in this study we have identified, by first time, conserved, known non-conserved and new miRNAs arising from an agronomically important species such as C. sativus. The detection of this complex population of regulatory small RNAs suggests that similarly to that observe in other plant species, cucumber miRNAs may possibly play an important role in diverse biological and metabolic processes.

Occurrence, characterization and management of fruit rot of immature cucumber fruits under arid greenhouse conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ABDULLAH M AL-SADI

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A study was undertaken to characterize and manage pathogens associated with fruit rot of immature cucumber fruits in greenhouses in Oman. A survey over 5 growing seasons from 2008 to 2010 in 99 different greenhouses in Oman showed that the disease is prevalent in 91 (92% greenhouses and results in losses of 10 to 60% (avg. 33% of immature fruits per plant. Incidence of the disease was not found to be affected by growing seasons, which could be attributed to the limited fluctuations in ambient temperatures in greenhouses. Isolations from diseased cucumber fruits yielded Alternaria alternata (isolation frequency = 52%, Fusarium equiseti (40%, Cladosporium tenuissium (27%, Botrytis cinerea (6%, Fusarium solani (6%, Corynespora cassiicola (3%, Aspergillus spp. (2%, Curvularia sp. (1% and Bipolaris sp. (1%. With the exception of Curvularia and Bipolaris species, all other fungi were pathogenic on cucumber fruits, with Fusarium equiseti being the most aggressive, followed by Corynespora cassiicola, Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata. Cladosporium and Aspergillus spp. were found to be weakly pathogenic. Comparing the efficacy of foliar and soil applications of carbendazim fungicide on fruit rot of cucumber showed that foliar applications significantly reduced fruit rot and increased cucumber yield when compared to soil application or to control (P < 0.01. This appears to be the first report of the association of Corynespora cassiicola and Fusarium equiseti with fruit rot of immature greenhouse cucumbers. This is also the first report in Oman for the association of Cladosporium tenuissimum with fruit rot of immature cucumbers. Findings are discussed in terms of factors affecting disease control in greenhouses using carbendazim.

Alleviation of cadmium toxicity in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) seedlings by the application of selenium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, H.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Wei, T.; Wang, G.

2016-07-01

In the present study, the role of selenium in cadmium toxicity was investigated in cucumber seedlings by hydroponic experiments. The application of Se for cucumber exposed to Cd significantly reduced Cd accumulation in all tissues, elevated Cd-depressed chlorophyll content, and improved photosynthetic performance. External Se significantly reduced ·OH, H2O2 and malondialdehyde content. Exogenous Se balanced Cd-depressed elements (e.g., Se enhanced Cd-induced decreases in root Zn, leaf/stem/root Mn concentrations) and carbohydrate contents. External Se also significantly decreased the Cd-induced increases in Na+K+-, Ca2+Mg2+- and total ATPase activities, which recovered almost to control level. Results indicate that application of Se can alleviate Cd toxicity in cucumber seedlings by reducing Cd uptake and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, moreover protecting photosynthetic machinery from damaging, balancing elements and carbohydrate contents, and improving ATPase activities in cucumber.

Alleviation of cadmium toxicity in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) seedlings by the application of selenium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, H.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Wei, T.; Wang, G.

2016-01-01

In the present study, the role of selenium in cadmium toxicity was investigated in cucumber seedlings by hydroponic experiments. The application of Se for cucumber exposed to Cd significantly reduced Cd accumulation in all tissues, elevated Cd-depressed chlorophyll content, and improved photosynthetic performance. External Se significantly reduced ·OH, H2O2 and malondialdehyde content. Exogenous Se balanced Cd-depressed elements (e.g., Se enhanced Cd-induced decreases in root Zn, leaf/stem/root Mn concentrations) and carbohydrate contents. External Se also significantly decreased the Cd-induced increases in Na+K+-, Ca2+Mg2+- and total ATPase activities, which recovered almost to control level. Results indicate that application of Se can alleviate Cd toxicity in cucumber seedlings by reducing Cd uptake and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, moreover protecting photosynthetic machinery from damaging, balancing elements and carbohydrate contents, and improving ATPase activities in cucumber.

Warehouse Order-Picking Process. Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. V. Korobkov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This article describes basic warehousing activities, namely: movement, information storage and transfer, as well as connections between typical warehouse operations (reception, transfer, assigning storage position and put-away, order-picking, hoarding and sorting, cross-docking, shipping. It presents a classification of the warehouse order-picking systems in terms of manual labor on offer as well as external (marketing channels, consumer’s demand structure, supplier’s replenishment structure and inventory level, total production demand, economic situation and internal (mechanization level, information accessibility, warehouse dimensionality, method of dispatch for shipping, zoning, batching, storage assignment method, routing method factors affecting the designing systems complexity. Basic optimization considerations are described. There is a literature review on the following sub-problems of planning and control of orderpicking processes.A layout design problem has been taken in account at two levels — external (facility layout problem and internal (aisle configuration problem. For a problem of distributing goods or stock keeping units the following methods are emphasized: random, nearest open storage position, and dedicated (COI-based, frequency-based distribution, as well as class-based and familygrouped (complimentary- and contact-based one. Batching problem can be solved by two main methods, i.e. proximity order batching (seed and saving algorithms and time-window order batching. There are two strategies for a zoning problem: progressive and synchronized, and also a special case of zoning — bucket brigades method. Hoarding/sorting problem is briefly reviewed. Order-picking routing problem will be thoroughly described in the next article of the cycle “Warehouse order-picking process”.

Visual-perceptual mismatch in robotic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Abiri, Ahmad; Tao, Anna; LaRocca, Meg; Guan, Xingmin; Askari, Syed J; Bisley, James W; Dutson, Erik P; Grundfest, Warren S

2017-08-01

The principal objective of the experiment was to analyze the effects of the clutch operation of robotic surgical systems on the performance of the operator. The relative coordinate system introduced by the clutch operation can introduce a visual-perceptual mismatch which can potentially have negative impact on a surgeon's performance. We also assess the impact of the introduction of additional tactile sensory information on reducing the impact of visual-perceptual mismatch on the performance of the operator. We asked 45 novice subjects to complete peg transfers using the da Vinci IS 1200 system with grasper-mounted, normal force sensors. The task involves picking up a peg with one of the robotic arms, passing it to the other arm, and then placing it on the opposite side of the view. Subjects were divided into three groups: aligned group (no mismatch), the misaligned group (10 cm z axis mismatch), and the haptics-misaligned group (haptic feedback and z axis mismatch). Each subject performed the task five times, during which the grip force, time of completion, and number of faults were recorded. Compared to the subjects that performed the tasks using a properly aligned controller/arm configuration, subjects with a single-axis misalignment showed significantly more peg drops (p = 0.011) and longer time to completion (p sensors showed no difference between the different groups. The visual-perceptual mismatch created by the misalignment of the robotic controls relative to the robotic arms has a negative impact on the operator of a robotic surgical system. Introduction of other sensory information and haptic feedback systems can help in potentially reducing this effect.

Response of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

The growth and yield of cucumber (Cucumus sativus L.) in response to application of goat ... The main plot treatment was organic manure source (goat dung and poultry dropping) while ... manure useful and important in soil fertility maintenance is their impact on soil fertility ... scarce and high cost of mineral fertilizer.

Fruit Detachment and Classification Method for Strawberry Harvesting Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guo Feng

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Fruit detachment and on-line classification is important for the development of harvesting robot. With the specific requriements of robot used for harvesting strawberries growing on the ground, a fruit detachment and classification method is introduced in this paper. OHTA color spaces based image segmentation algorithm is utilized to extract strawberry from background; Principal inertia axis of binary strawberry blob is calculated to give the pose information of fruit. Strawberry is picked selectively according to its ripeness and classified according to its shape feature. Histogram matching based method for fruit shape judgment is introduced firstly. Experiment results show that this method can achieve 93% accuracy of strawberry's stem detection, 90% above accuracy of ripeness and shape quality judgment on black and white background. With the improvement of harvesting mechanism design, this method has application potential in the field operation.

Fruit Detachment and Classification Method for Strawberry Harvesting Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guo Feng

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Fruit detachment and on-line classification is important for the development of harvesting robot. With the specific requriements of robot used for harvesting strawberries growing on the ground, a fruit detachment and classification method is introduced in this paper. OHTA color spaces based image segmentation algorithm is utilized to extract strawberry from background; Principal inertia axis of binary strawberry blob is calculated to give the pose information of fruit. Strawberry is picked selectively according to its ripeness and classified according to its shape feature. Histogram matching based method for fruit shape judgment is introduced firstly. Experiment results show that this method can achieve 93% accuracy of strawberry's stem detection, 90% above accuracy of ripeness and shape quality judgment on black and white background. With the improvement of harvesting mechanism design, this method has application potential in the field operation.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Growth-Related Genes in Juvenile Chinese Sea Cucumber, Russian Sea Cucumber, and Their Hybrids.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhicheng; Cui, Jun; Song, Jian; Wang, Haoze; Gao, Kailun; Qiu, Xuemei; Gou, Meng; Li, Xin; Hu, Ziwen; Wang, Xiuli; Chang, Yaqing

2018-04-01

Heterosis is important for sea cucumber breeding, but its molecular mechanism remains largely unexplored. In this study, parental lines of Apostichopus japonicus from Russia (R) and China (C) were used to construct hybrids (CR and RC) by reciprocal crossing. We examined the transcriptional profiles of the hybrids (CR and RC) and the purebreds (CC and RR) at different developmental times. A total of 60.27 Gb of clean data was obtained, and 176,649 unigenes were identified, of which 50,312 unigenes were annotated. A total of 414,536 SNPs were identified. A total of 7011 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained between the purebreds and hybrids at 45 days after fertilization (DAF), and a total of 8218 DEGs were obtained between the purebreds and hybrids at 75 DAF. In addition, a total of 7652 DEGs were obtained between 45 DAF and 75 DAF. The significant DEGs were mainly involved in the MAPK and FOXO signaling pathways, especially in the Ras-Raf-MEK1/2-ERK module, which may be a key regulator of development and growth in juvenile A. japonicus. In addition, we also identified key growth-related genes, such as fgfs, igfs, megfs and hgfs, which were upregulated in the hybrids (RC and CR); these genes may play important roles in heterosis in A. japonicus. Our study provides fundamental information on the molecular mechanisms underlying heterosis in sea cucumber and might suggest strategies for the selection of rapidly growing strains of sea cucumber in aquaculture.

The relationship of psychological trauma with trichotillomania and skin picking.

Science.gov (United States)

Özten, Eylem; Sayar, Gökben Hızlı; Eryılmaz, Gül; Kağan, Gaye; Işık, Sibel; Karamustafalıoğlu, Oğuz

2015-01-01

Interactions between psychological, biological and environmental factors are important in development of trichotillomania and skin picking. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship of traumatic life events, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociation in patients with diagnoses of trichotillomania and skin picking disorder. The study included patients who was diagnosed with trichotillomania (n=23) or skin picking disorder (n=44), and healthy controls (n=37). Beck Depression Inventory, Traumatic Stress Symptoms Scale and Dissociative Experiences Scale were administered. All groups checked a list of traumatic life events to determine the exposed traumatic events. There was no statistical significance between three groups in terms of Dissociative Experiences Scale scores (P=0.07). But Beck Depression Inventory and Traumatic Stress Symptoms Scale scores of trichotillomania and skin picking groups were significantly higher than the control group. Subjects with a diagnosis of trichotillomania and skin picking reported statistically significantly higher numbers of traumatic and negative events in childhood compared to healthy subjects. We can conclude that trauma may play a role in development of both trichotillomania and skin picking. Increased duration of trichotillomania or skin picking was correlated with decreased presence of post-traumatic stress symptoms. The reason for the negatively correlation of severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms and self-harming behavior may be speculated as developing trichotillomania or skin picking symptoms helps the patient to cope with intrusive thoughts related to trauma. Future longitudinal research must focus on whether trauma and post-traumatic stress or trichotillomania and skin picking precede the development of mental disorder.

ANALYSIS of Control Force Grasping for a Multifunctional Five Fingered Robot to Pick-up Various of Components

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Widhiada W.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Multi-fingered robot gripper has become popular in the major research topics as grasping an object in robotic systems. The author considers a matter of style-based control model for a multi-fingered robot hand grasping an object with a known geometric characteristics. This paper introduces design process and analysis of contact force the five fingered gripper suitable to handle several of objects. The author applied Simulink/SimMechanics, Support package Arduino and Inventor software packages to facilatate and integrated the design of contact force gripper systems. The advance of PID control is used to control dynamics motions of the five fingered gripper systems. The multifunction finger’s gripper is developed to handle the various components. Contact force between fingertips and object surface is computed using the Hooke law concept. The analysis of experiment result shows the optimum of contact forces are achieved to hold the object. The spring and damper algorithm is used to compute the interaction of force between fingertips and object surface.

Molecular cloning and functional characterization of cathepsin D from sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Cuiping; Cha, Yue; Wu, Fan; Xu, Xianbing; Qin, Lei; Du, Ming

2017-11-01

Cathepsin D (CTSD, EC 3.4.23.5) belongs to aspartic protease family, which is located in lysosomes and is distributed in diverse tissues and cells. CTSD has a wide variety of physiological functions, owing to its proteolytic activity in degradating proteins and peptides. In the current study, the full length cDNA of sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) cathepsin D (AjCTSD) was firstly cloned, then the association between AjCTSD and sea cucumber autolysis was investigated. The full length cDNA of AjCTSD was 2896 bp, with an open reading frame (ORF) for 391 amino acids. AjCTSD was widely expressed in body wall, muscle and intestine; the expression level was the highest in intestine, followed by muscle and body wall. Compared to fresh tissues, AjCTSD expression levels were significantly increased in all examined autolytic tissues. The purified recombinant AjCTSD promoted the degradation of sea cucumber muscle. In conclusion, AjCTSD contributed to sea cucumber muscle autolysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transcriptome and Small RNAome Dynamics during a Resistant and Susceptible Interaction between Cucumber and Downy Mildew

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alyssa Burkhardt

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Cucumber ( L. downy mildew, caused by the obligate oomycete pathogen (Berk. and Curt. Rostov., is the primary factor limiting cucumber production. Although sources of resistance have been identified, such as plant introduction line PI 197088, the genes and processes involved in mediating resistance are still unknown. In the current study, we conducted a comprehensive transcriptome and small RNAome analysis of a resistant (PI 197088 and susceptible (‘Vlaspik’ cucumber during a time course of infection using Illumina sequencing. We identified significantly differentially expressed (DE genes within and between resistant and susceptible cucumber leaves over a time course of infection. Weighted gene correlation network analyses (WGCNA created coexpression modules containing genes with unique expression patterns between Vlaspik and PI 197088. Recurring data trends indicated that resistance to cucumber downy mildew is associated with earlier response to the pathogen, hormone signaling, and regulation of nutrient supply. Candidate resistance genes were identified from multiple transcriptome analyses and literature support. Additionally, parallel sequencing of small RNAs (sRNAs from cucumber and during the infection time course was used to identify and quantify novel and existing microRNA (miRNA in both species. Predicted miRNA targets of cucumber transcripts suggest a complex interconnectedness of gene expression regulation in this plant–pathogen system. This work bioinformatically uncovered gene expression patterns involved in the mediation of or response to resistance. Herein, we provide the foundation for future work to validate candidate resistance genes and miRNA-based regulation proposed in this study.

Impact of water temperature on the growth and fatty acid profiles of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka).

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Haibo; Zhang, Cheng; Gao, Qinfeng; Dong, Shuanglin; Ye, Zhi; Tian, Xiangli

2016-08-01

The present study determined the changes in the fatty acid (FA) profiles of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus in response to the varied water temperature. Sea cucumbers with similar size (4.02±0.11g) were cultured for 8 weeks at 14°C, 18°C, 22°C and 26°C, respectively. At the end of the experiment, the specific growth rate (SGR) and the profiles of FAs in neutral lipids and phospholipids of the juvenile sea cucumbers cultured at different temperatures were determined. The SGRs of the sea cucumbers cultured at 26°C significantly decreased 46.3% compared to thos cultured at 18°C. Regression analysis showed that the SGR-temperature (T) relationship can be expressed as SGR=-0.0073T(2)+0.255T -1.0231 (R(2)=0.9936) and the highest SGR was predicted at 17.5°C. For the neutral lipids, the sum of saturated FAs (SFAs), monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) or polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) of the sea cucumbers that were cultured at the water temperature from 18°C-26°C did not change significantly, indicating the insensitivity of FA profiles for the neutral lipids of sea cucumbers in response to increasing water temperature. For phospholipids, the sum of PUFAs in the sea cucumbers dramatically decreased with the gradually increased water temperature. The sum of SFAs and MUFAs of sea cucumbers, however, increased with the gradually elevated water temperature. In particular, the contents of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs), including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), in the phospholipids of the sea cucumbers decreased 37.2% and 26.1%, respectively, when the water temperature increased from 14°C to 26°C. In summary, the sea cucumbers A. japonicus can regulate the FA compositions, especially the contents of EPA and DHA, in the phospholipids so as to adapt to varied water temperature. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fast and Reliable Mouse Picking Using Graphics Hardware

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanli Zhao

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Mouse picking is the most commonly used intuitive operation to interact with 3D scenes in a variety of 3D graphics applications. High performance for such operation is necessary in order to provide users with fast responses. This paper proposes a fast and reliable mouse picking algorithm using graphics hardware for 3D triangular scenes. Our approach uses a multi-layer rendering algorithm to perform the picking operation in linear time complexity. The objectspace based ray-triangle intersection test is implemented in a highly parallelized geometry shader. After applying the hardware-supported occlusion queries, only a small number of objects (or sub-objects are rendered in subsequent layers, which accelerates the picking efficiency. Experimental results demonstrate the high performance of our novel approach. Due to its simplicity, our algorithm can be easily integrated into existing real-time rendering systems.

Design and Control of Warehouse Order Picking: a literature review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.B.M. de Koster (René); T. Le-Duc (Tho); K.J. Roodbergen (Kees-Jan)

2006-01-01

textabstractOrder picking has long been identified as the most labour-intensive and costly activity for almost every warehouse; the cost of order picking is estimated to be as much as 55% of the total warehouse operating expense. Any underperformance in order picking can lead to unsatisfactory

Medieval herbal iconography and lexicography of Cucumis (cucumber and melon, Cucurbitaceae) in the Occident, 1300–1458

Science.gov (United States)

Paris, Harry S.; Janick, Jules; Daunay, Marie-Christine

2011-01-01

Background The genus Cucumis contains two species of important vegetable crops, C. sativus, cucumber, and C. melo, melon. Melon has iconographical and textual records from lands of the Mediterranean Basin dating back to antiquity, but cucumber does not. The goal of this study was to obtain an improved understanding of the history of these crops in the Occident. Medieval images purportedly of Cucumis were examined, their specific identity was determined and they were compared for originality, accuracy and the lexicography of their captions. Findings The manuscripts having accurate, informative images are derived from Italy and France and were produced between 1300 and 1458. All have an illustration of cucumber but not all contain an image of melon. The cucumber fruits are green, unevenly cylindrical with an approx. 2:1 length-to-width ratio. Most of the images show the cucumbers marked by sparsely distributed, large dark dots, but images from northern France show them as having densely distributed, small black dots. The different size, colour and distribution reflect the different surface wartiness and spininess of modern American and French pickling cucumbers. The melon fruits are green, oval to serpentine, closely resembling the chate and snake vegetable melons, but not sweet melons. In nearly all manuscripts of Italian provenance, the cucumber image is labelled with the Latin caption citruli, or similar, plural diminuitive of citrus (citron, Citrus medica). However, in manuscripts of French provenance, the cucumber image is labelled cucumeres, which is derived from the classical Latin epithet cucumis for snake melon. The absence of melon in some manuscripts and the expropriation of the Latin cucumis/cucumer indicate replacement of vegetable melons by cucumbers during the medieval period in Europe. One image, from British Library ms. Sloane 4016, has a caption that allows tracing of the word ‘gherkin’ back to languages of the geographical nativity of C

Reproducibility of suppression of Pythium wilt of cucumber by compost

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauritz Vilhelm Vestberg

2014-10-01

Full Text Available There is increasing global interest in using compost to suppress soil-borne fungal and bacterial diseases and nematodes. We studied the reproducibility of compost suppressive capacity (SC against Pythium wilt of cucumber using nine composts produced by the same composting plant in 2008 and 2009. A bioassay was set up in a greenhouse using cucumber inoculated with two strains of Pythium. The composts were used as 20% mixtures (v:v of a basic steam-sterilized light Sphagnum peat and sand (3:1, v:v. Shoot height was measured weekly during the 5-week experiment. At harvest, the SC was calculated as the % difference in shoot dry weight (DW between non-inoculated and inoculated cucumbers. The SC was not affected by year of production (2008 or 2009, indicating reproducibility of SC when the raw materials and the composting method are not changed. Differences in shoot height were not as pronounced as those for shoot DW. The results were encouraging, but further studies are still needed for producing compost with guaranteed suppressiveness properties.

NOISY DISPERSION CURVE PICKING (NDCP): a Matlab friendly suite package for fully control dispersion curve picking

Science.gov (United States)

Granados, I.; Calo, M.; Ramos, V.

2017-12-01

We developed a Matlab suite package (NDCP, Noisy Dispersion Curve Picking) that allows a full control over parameters to identify correctly group velocity dispersion curves in two types of datasets: correlograms between two stations or surface wave records from earthquakes. Using the frequency-time analysis (FTAN), the procedure to obtain the dispersion curves from records with a high noise level becomes difficult, and sometimes, the picked curve result in a misinterpreted character. For correlogram functions, obtained with cross-correlation of noise records or earthquake's coda, a non-homogeneous noise sources distribution yield to a non-symmetric Green's function (GF); to retrieve the complete information contained in there, NDCP allows to pick the dispersion curve in the time domain both in the causal and non-causal part of the GF. Then the picked dispersion curve is displayed on the FTAN diagram to in order to check if it matches with the maximum of the signal energy avoiding confusion with overtones or spike of noise. To illustrate how NDCP performs, we show exemple using: i) local correlograms functions obtained from sensors deployed into a volcanic caldera (Los Humeros, in Puebla, Mexico), ii) regional correlograms functions between two stations of the National Seismological Service (SSN, Servicio Sismológico Nacional in Spanish), and iii) surface wave seismic record for an earthquake located in the Pacific Ocean coast of Mexico and recorded by the SSN. This work is supported by the GEMEX project (Geothermal Europe-Mexico consortium).

Understanding mechanism of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus aestivation: Insights from TMT-based proteomic study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Muyan; Li, Xingke; Zhu, Aijun; Storey, Kenneth B; Sun, Lina; Gao, Tianxiang; Wang, Tianming

2016-09-01

Marine invertebrate aestivation is a unique strategy for summer survival in response to hot marine conditions. The sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, is an excellent model marine invertebrate for studies of environmentally-induced aestivation. In the present study, we used a tandem mass tag (TMT)-coupled LC-MS/MS approach to identify and quantify the global proteome expression profile over the aestivation-arousal cycle of A. japonicus. A total of 3920 proteins were identified from the intestine of sea cucumber. Among them, 630 proteins showed significant differential expression when comparing three conditions of sea cucumbers: non-aestivating (active), deep-aestivation (at least 15days of continuous aestivation), and arousal after aestivation (renewed moving and feeding). Sea cucumbers in deep aestivation showed substantial differentially expressed proteins (143 up-regulated and 267 down-regulated proteins compared with non-aestivating controls). These differentially expressed proteins suggested that protein and phospholipid probably are major fuel sources during hypometabolism and a general attenuation of carbohydrate metabolism was observed during deep aestivation. Differentially expressed proteins also provided the first global picture of a shift in protein synthesis, protein folding, DNA binding, apoptosis, cellular transport and signaling, and cytoskeletal proteins during deep aestivation in sea cucumbers. A comparison of arousal from aestivation with deep aestivation, revealed a general reversal of the changes that occurred in aestivation for most proteins. Western blot detection further validated the significant up-regulation of HSP70 and down-regulation of methyltransferase-like protein 7A-like in deep-aestivation. Our results suggest that there is substantial post-transcriptional regulation of proteins during the aestivation-arousal cycle in sea cucumbers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of phages to control Vibrio splendidus infection in the juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhen; Li, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Jiancheng; Wang, Xitao; Wang, Lili; Cao, Zhenhui; Xu, Yongping

2016-07-01

In the present study, we isolated 3 bacteriophages with the ability to control Vibrio splendidus, a bacterium known to cause disease in the juvenile sea cucumber. These bacteriophages were designated as vB_VspS_VS-ABTNL-1 (PVS-1), vB_VspS_VS-ABTNL-2 (PVS-2) and vB_VspS_VS-ABTNL-3 (PVS-3). The ability of the 3 phages to inhibit the growth of V. splendidus VS-ABTNL was tested in vitro using each of the 3 phages individually or in the form of a cocktail of all 3 phages in the proportion of 1:1:1. All treated cultures produced a significant (P sea cucumbers (23 ± 2 g) were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 treatments. Each treatment was housed in 3 PVC tanks (38 cm × 54 cm × 80 cm) with 20 sea cucumbers per tank. Six diets were prepared including an unsupplemented control diet, antibiotic treatment diet, 3 diets containing 1 of the 3 phages individually and a diet containing a cocktail of all 3 phages. After 60 days of feeding, all sea cucumber were challenged with V. splendidus VS-ABTNL by immersion in sea water containing a bacterial concentration of 6 × 10(6) CFU/mL for 2 days. The survival rate of sea cucumbers during the next 10 days was 18% for the unsupplemented diet, 82% for the antibiotic treatment, 82% for the phage cocktail, 65% for phage PVS-1, 58% for phage PVS-2 and 50% for phage PVS-3. There were no significant differences in weight gain, ingestion rate or feed conversion among sea cucumber fed the 4 phage treatments compared with those fed the unsupplemented diet (P > 0.05). The levels of nitric oxide synthase and acid phosphatase of sea cucumbers fed phage-containing diets were significantly (P  0.05) were detected among the 4 phage-fed treatments. An additional study was conducted in which 60 healthy sea cucumbers (23 ± 2 g) were randomly assigned to a control, an untreated group and a test group to investigate the effects of injecting phages by coelomic injection on the survival rate and enzyme activities in the coelomic fluid

Open source hardware and software platform for robotics and artificial intelligence applications

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, S. Ng; Tan, K. O.; Lai Clement, T. H.; Ng, S. K.; Mohammed, A. H. Ali; Mailah, Musa; Azhar Yussof, Wan; Hamedon, Zamzuri; Yussof, Zulkifli

2016-02-01

Recent developments in open source hardware and software platforms (Android, Arduino, Linux, OpenCV etc.) have enabled rapid development of previously expensive and sophisticated system within a lower budget and flatter learning curves for developers. Using these platform, we designed and developed a Java-based 3D robotic simulation system, with graph database, which is integrated in online and offline modes with an Android-Arduino based rubbish picking remote control car. The combination of the open source hardware and software system created a flexible and expandable platform for further developments in the future, both in the software and hardware areas, in particular in combination with graph database for artificial intelligence, as well as more sophisticated hardware, such as legged or humanoid robots.

Open source hardware and software platform for robotics and artificial intelligence applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, S Ng; Tan, K O; Clement, T H Lai; Ng, S K; Mohammed, A H Ali; Mailah, Musa; Yussof, Wan Azhar; Hamedon, Zamzuri; Yussof, Zulkifli

2016-01-01

Recent developments in open source hardware and software platforms (Android, Arduino, Linux, OpenCV etc.) have enabled rapid development of previously expensive and sophisticated system within a lower budget and flatter learning curves for developers. Using these platform, we designed and developed a Java-based 3D robotic simulation system, with graph database, which is integrated in online and offline modes with an Android-Arduino based rubbish picking remote control car. The combination of the open source hardware and software system created a flexible and expandable platform for further developments in the future, both in the software and hardware areas, in particular in combination with graph database for artificial intelligence, as well as more sophisticated hardware, such as legged or humanoid robots. (paper)

The relationship between adolescents' academic stress, impulsivity, anxiety, and skin picking behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, Sun Kyung; Lee, Woo Kyeong

2017-08-01

Skin picking behavior involves an individual picking or biting their skin repeatedly. Although this behavior commonly occurs at a young age, little research has addressed its harmful effects among the Korean population. Therefore, we examined the characteristics of South Korean adolescents who reported skin picking behavior. South Korean students aged 12-16 years participated (N=410, females=52.2%). They completed questionnaires that addressed skin picking behavior, academic stress, impulsivity, and anxiety. The survey was conducted in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do from February-March 2016. Among participants, 66.8% reported that they had picked their skin and 15.4% did so currently. Skin picking was positively correlated with academic stress, impulsivity, and anxiety. Students who picked their skin more often displayed more anxiety, academic stress, and impulsivity. Future studies should address skin picking adolescents' characteristics, especially regarding anxiety and academic stress. Educational programs should be implemented to help adolescents decrease their anxiety and academic stress and prevent the worsening of skin picking behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Residues and Analysis of Degradation of Novel Fungicide Picoxystrobin in Cucumber and Soil Under Field Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SUN Yang

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The analytical method for the residues of picoxystrobin in cucumber vegetable and soil matrices was developed and the dissipation of picoxystrobin under field conditions was studied. The limit of detection(LODof picoxystrobin was 3.5×10 -11 g and the limit of quantifica-tion(LOQwas found to be 0.005 mg·kg -1 in cucumber and soil. At three different spiking levels(0.005, 0.05, 0.25 mg·kg -1, mean recoveries and relative standard deviation(RSDfrom fortified samples in five replicated experiments for each matrix were in the range of 68.61%-122.4% and 1.06%-17.2%, respectively. The results showed that the half-lives of picoxystrobin in cucumber and soil from Tianjin City were 5.71 d and 12.9 d, respectively, the half-lives of picoxystrobin in cucumber and soil from Shandong Province were 2.70 d and 10.3 d, respec-tively, and the half-lives of picoxystrobin in cucumber and soil from Jiangsu Province were 9.76 d and 14.9 d, respectively. The maximum residual concentration of picoxystrobin on the 5th day after the last application was 0.014 mg· kg -1, much lower than the Maximum Residue Limits(MRLsfor picoxystrobin in cucumber according to the standards of EU(0.05 mg·kg-1.

Order Picking Optimization in Carousels Storage System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiong-zhi Wang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the order picking problem in a material handling system consisting of multiple carousels and one picker. Carousels are rotatable closed-loop storage systems for small items, where items are stored in bins along the loop. An order at carousels consists of n different items stored there. The objective is to find an optimal picking sequence to minimizing the total order picking time. After proving the problem to be strongly NP-hard and deriving two characteristics, we develop a dynamic programming algorithm (DPA for a special case (two-carousel storage system and an improved nearest items heuristics (INIH for the general problem. Experimental results verify that the solutions are quickly and steadily achieved and show their better performance.

The impact of COI-based storage on order-picking times

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grzegorz Tarczyński

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background: The increasing competitiveness on the global markets enforces the need for a fast and reliable delivery. This task is possible to perform by improving the order-picking systems. The implementation of automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS is not always profitable. In the warehouses where the order-picking is performed in accordance with the principle of picker-to-part rule, the picking efficiency optimization includes among others: the warehouse layout, the storage policy, the routing heuristic, the way of zoning, the order-batching method, and the sequencing of pick-lists. In the paper the impact of the storage policy on the order-picking times is checked. Methods: The influence of storage based on Heskett’s cube-per-order index (COI on the average order-picking times is analyzed. The items based on increasing values of COI index are divided on classes. To determine the demand for items the analytical function proposed by Caron is used. Results: In the paper the benefits of storage based on COI index are compared with random storage and storage based only on picking frequency. It is assumed that the bin, to which the picker collects items has limited capacity – some orders has to be divided on smaller pick-lists. The analysis was performed using simulation tools. Additionally, the algorithm (taking into account different sizes of picker’s bin for order-batching is presented. Conclusions: The analysis shows that the COI-based storage is particularly effective when the size of items increases. The COI-based curve is less skewed than the curve based only on picking frequency. The choice of storage policy should be carried out together with routing heuristic. The use of batching algorithm significantly increases the effectiveness of the order-picking process, but the optimal size of picker’s bin (and batch should be optimized with consideration the sorting process.

Bayesian Peak Picking for NMR Spectra

KAUST Repository

Cheng, Yichen

2014-02-01

Protein structure determination is a very important topic in structural genomics, which helps people to understand varieties of biological functions such as protein-protein interactions, protein–DNA interactions and so on. Nowadays, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has often been used to determine the three-dimensional structures of protein in vivo. This study aims to automate the peak picking step, the most important and tricky step in NMR structure determination. We propose to model the NMR spectrum by a mixture of bivariate Gaussian densities and use the stochastic approximation Monte Carlo algorithm as the computational tool to solve the problem. Under the Bayesian framework, the peak picking problem is casted as a variable selection problem. The proposed method can automatically distinguish true peaks from false ones without preprocessing the data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first effort in the literature that tackles the peak picking problem for NMR spectrum data using Bayesian method.

Occurrence of Cucumber mosaic virus on vanilla

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) causing mosaic, leaf distortion and stunting of vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Andrews) in India was characterized on the basis of biological and coat protein (CP) nucleotide sequence properties. In mechanical inoculation tests, the virus was found to infect members of Chenopodiaceae, ...

Identification and bioinformatics comparison of two novel phosphatases in monoecious and gynoecious cucumber lines

Science.gov (United States)

Pawełkowicz, Magdalena E.; Wojcieszek, Michał; Osipowski, Paweł; Krzywkowski, Tomasz; PlÄ der, Wojciech; Przybecki, Zbigniew

2016-09-01

Two Arabidopsis thaliana genes from the PP2C family of protein phosphatases (AtABI1 and AtABI2) were used to find orthologous genes in the Cucumis sativus L. cv. Borszczagowski (cucumber) genome. Cucumber has been used as a model plant for sex expression studies because although it has been defined as a monoecious species, numerous genotypes are known to produce only female, only male, or hermaphroditic flowers. We identified two new orthologous genes of AtABI1 and AtABI2 in the cucumber genome and named them CsABI1 and CsABI2. To determine the relationships between the regulation of CsABI1 and CsABI2 and flower morphogenesis in cucumber, we performed various computational analyses to define the structure of the genes, and to predict regulatory elements and protein motifs in their sequences. We also performed an expression analysis to identify differences in the expression levels of CsABI1 and CsABI2 in vegetative and generative tissues (leaf, shoot apex, and flower buds) of monoecious (B10) and gynoecious (2gg) cucumber lines. We found that the expressions of CsABI1 and CsABI2 differed in male and female floral buds, and correlated these findings with the abscisic acid signaling pathways in male and female flowers.

Automatic microseismic event picking via unsupervised machine learning

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yangkang

2018-01-01

Effective and efficient arrival picking plays an important role in microseismic and earthquake data processing and imaging. Widely used short-term-average long-term-average ratio (STA/LTA) based arrival picking algorithms suffer from the sensitivity to moderate-to-strong random ambient noise. To make the state-of-the-art arrival picking approaches effective, microseismic data need to be first pre-processed, for example, removing sufficient amount of noise, and second analysed by arrival pickers. To conquer the noise issue in arrival picking for weak microseismic or earthquake event, I leverage the machine learning techniques to help recognizing seismic waveforms in microseismic or earthquake data. Because of the dependency of supervised machine learning algorithm on large volume of well-designed training data, I utilize an unsupervised machine learning algorithm to help cluster the time samples into two groups, that is, waveform points and non-waveform points. The fuzzy clustering algorithm has been demonstrated to be effective for such purpose. A group of synthetic, real microseismic and earthquake data sets with different levels of complexity show that the proposed method is much more robust than the state-of-the-art STA/LTA method in picking microseismic events, even in the case of moderately strong background noise.

Effects of different algae in diet on growth and interleukin (IL-10 production of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md Anisuzzaman

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different algae in diet on growth, survival, and interleukin-10 productions of sea cucumber. At first, a 9-week feeding trail was conducted to evaluate the growth performance and survival of the sea cucumber fed one of the six experimental diets containing ST (Sargassum thunbergii, UL (Ulva lactuca, UP (Undaria pinnatifida, LJ (Laminaria japonica, SS (Schizochytrium sp., and NO (Nannochloropsis oculata in a recirculating aquaculture system. The result showed that survival was not significantly different among the dietary treatments, and the specific growth rate (SGR of sea cucumber fed the UL diet (1.58% d−1 was significantly higher than that of sea cucumber fed the other diets (P < 0.05, except for the LJ and NO diets. Secondly, interleukin (IL-10 gene expression was determined where mice splenocytes were stimulated with 10 μg ml−1 of sea cucumber extracts for 2 h. The result showed that IL-10 gene expression levels were significantly increased in UL, LJ, and NO diets fed sea cucumber extracts compared to other experimental diets. The results suggest that dietary inclusion with Ulva lactuca, Laminaria japonica, and Nannochloropsis oculata algae may improve the growth of juvenile sea cucumber and could upregulate IL-10 gene expression in mice splenocytes. Such detailed information could be helpful in further development of more appropriate diets for sea cucumber culture.

Long-term knowledge acquisition using contextual information in a memory-inspired robot architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Pratama, Ferdian; Mastrogiovanni, Fulvio; Lee, Soon Geul; Chong, Nak Young

2017-03-01

In this paper, we present a novel cognitive framework allowing a robot to form memories of relevant traits of its perceptions and to recall them when necessary. The framework is based on two main principles: on the one hand, we propose an architecture inspired by current knowledge in human memory organisation; on the other hand, we integrate such an architecture with the notion of context, which is used to modulate the knowledge acquisition process when consolidating memories and forming new ones, as well as with the notion of familiarity, which is employed to retrieve proper memories given relevant cues. Although much research has been carried out, which exploits Machine Learning approaches to provide robots with internal models of their environment (including objects and occurring events therein), we argue that such approaches may not be the right direction to follow if a long-term, continuous knowledge acquisition is to be achieved. As a case study scenario, we focus on both robot-environment and human-robot interaction processes. In case of robot-environment interaction, a robot performs pick and place movements using the objects in the workspace, at the same time observing their displacement on a table in front of it, and progressively forms memories defined as relevant cues (e.g. colour, shape or relative position) in a context-aware fashion. As far as human-robot interaction is concerned, the robot can recall specific snapshots representing past events using both sensory information and contextual cues upon request by humans.

Study on the effect of different fertilizer on the stable nitrogen isotope of soil, leaf and cucumber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Yuwei; Zhang Zhiheng; Xu Mingfei; Yang Guiling; Zheng Jici; Wang Qiang; Zhao Ming

2010-01-01

The effect of combined application of organic and chemical fertilizers on stable nitrogen isotope abundance (δ 15 N-%), nitrate and nitrate reductase active was studied for the soil, cucumber and leaf,respectively. The results showed that the δ 15 N of cucumber was with the trend of low, high and low as the application rate of organic manure decreased, and it was significantly different (P 0.05) for the other treatments. The δ 15 N of cucumber was not significantly different during different harvest time (P>0.05) for the same treatment. The correlation of δ 15 N between the cucumber and the leaf was 0.9836 for the different treatment, whose δ 15 N was more affected more by the fertilizer and less by the soil. The content of nitrate in cucumber was reducing with the rate of organic manure decreasing, which had a bad correlation (r=0.6568) with the δ 15 N of cucumber; however the active of nitrate reductase was increasing which had a positive correlation with the treatments of control treatment, 100%, 80% and 60% of organic manure applied (r=0.9187), and a negative correlation with the treatments of 60%, 40%, 20% of organic manure and 100% chemical fertilizer applied (r=-0.9773). To sum up, the δ 15 N can be used as marks to discriminate the cucumbers grown with organic manure and chemical fertilizer, but the pattern of fractionation and distribution of the stable nitrogen isotope should be further studied. (authors)

Performance approximation of pick-to-belt orderpicking systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.B.M. de Koster (René)

1994-01-01

textabstractIn this paper, an approximation method is discussed for the analysis of pick-to-belt orderpicking systems. The aim of the approximation method is to provide an instrument for obtaining rapid insight in the performance of designs of pick-to-belt orderpicking systems. It can be used to

Pico Lantern: a pick-up projector for augmented reality in laparoscopic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Edgcumbe, Philip; Pratt, Philip; Yang, Guang-Zhong; Nguan, Chris; Rohling, Rob

2014-01-01

The Pico Lantern is proposed as a new tool for guidance in laparoscopic surgery. Its miniaturized design allows it to be picked up by a laparoscopic tool during surgery and tracked directly by the endoscope. By using laser projection, different patterns and annotations can be projected onto the tissue surface. The first explored application is surface reconstruction. The absolute error for surface reconstruction using stereo endoscopy and untracked Pico Lantern for a plane, cylinder and ex vivo kidney is 2.0 mm, 3.0 mm and 5.6 mm respectively. The absolute error using a mono endoscope and a tracked Pico Lantern for the same plane, cylinder and kidney is 0.8mm, 0.3mm and 1.5mm respectively. The results show the benefit of the wider baseline produced by tracking the Pico Lantern. Pulsatile motion of a human carotid artery is also detected in vivo. Future work will be done on the integration into standard and robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery.

Preparation of a Lactobacillus plantarum starter culture for cucumber fermentations that can meet kosher guidelines

Science.gov (United States)

A method is described for growth of a Lactobacillus plantarum starter culture in jars of commercially available pasteurized fresh-pack kosher dill cucumbers so that jars can be used to inoculate commercial scale cucumber fermentation tanks. A procedure is also described to transfer lactic acid bacte...

Conditions, demands and technology for automatic harvesting of fruit vegetables

OpenAIRE

Gieling, Th.H.; Henten, van, E.J.; Os, van, E.A.; Sakaue, O.; Hendrix, A.T.M.

1996-01-01

The primary step in the process of developing a picking robot is to define its specifications. Then, a decision on whether the robot should move along the plants or the plants to move along the robot has to be made. Other aspects dealing with the economics of the robot (investment and annual costs), working time and required picking speed are decided on. This paper addresses these questions and concludes that a picking robot will be more feasible in a traditional stationary production system ...

Effect of Bacillus baekryungensis YD13 supplemented in diets on growth performance and immune response of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus)

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Fajun; Tian, Xiangli; Dong, Shuanglin

2014-10-01

The effect of a potential probiotic on the growth performance and immune response of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus) was investigated. Bacillus baekryungensis YD13 isolated from sea cucumber culturing ponds was added to sea cucumber basal feed as a probiotic in different doses (0, the control; 1×104 (YD134), 1×106 (YD136) and 1×108 (YD138) CFU g-1 of diet), and administered orally to A. japonicus (initial mean wet weight 5.44 g ± 0.17 g). The sea cucumbers were fed in 20 aquaria, 5 each treatment, for 60 d. At the end of growth trial, 20 sea cucumbers from each treatment were challenged with Vibrio splendidus. A. japonicus in YD134 and YD136 exhibited significantly better growth performance than control ( P sea cucumbers of YD136. Accordingly, 1×106 CFU g-1 of YD13 in diet was recommended for the growth promotion and immune enhancement of A. japonicus.

Growth, metabolism and physiological response of the sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus Selenka during periods of inactivity

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Rongbin; Zang, Yuanqi; Tian, Xiangli; Dong, Shuanglin

2013-03-01

The growth, metabolism and physiological response of the sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, were investigated during periods of inactivity. The body weight, oxygen consumption rate (OCR), activities of acidic phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and content of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) in the body wall and coelomic fluid of A. japonicus were measured during starvation, experimental aestivation and aestivation. The results showed that the body weight of sea cucumber in the three treatments decreased significantly during the experimental period ( P sea cucumber reduced in starvation and experimental aestivation treatments, but increased gradually in natural aestivation treatment. The activities of ACP and AKP of sea cucumber decreased gradually in all treatments, whereas those of SOD and CAT as well as Hsp70 content decreased in the starvation and experimental aestivation treatments and increased in natural aestivation treatment. The sea cucumber entered a state of aestivation at 24°C. To some extent, the animals in experimental aestivation were different from those in natural aestivation in metabolism and physiological response. These findings suggested that the aestivation mechanism of A. japonicus is complex and may not be attributed to the elevated temperature only.

Face and content validity of Xperience™ Team Trainer: bed-side assistant training simulator for robotic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Sessa, Luca; Perrenot, Cyril; Xu, Song; Hubert, Jacques; Bresler, Laurent; Brunaud, Laurent; Perez, Manuela

2018-03-01

In robotic surgery, the coordination between the console-side surgeon and bed-side assistant is crucial, more than in standard surgery or laparoscopy where the surgical team works in close contact. Xperience™ Team Trainer (XTT) is a new optional component for the dv-Trainer ® platform and simulates the patient-side working environment. We present preliminary results for face, content, and the workload imposed regarding the use of the XTT virtual reality platform for the psychomotor and communication skills training of the bed-side assistant in robot-assisted surgery. Participants were categorized into "Beginners" and "Experts". They tested a series of exercises (Pick & Place Laparoscopic Demo, Pick & Place 2 and Team Match Board 1) and completed face validity questionnaires. "Experts" assessed content validity on another questionnaire. All the participants completed a NASA Task Load Index questionnaire to assess the workload imposed by XTT. Twenty-one consenting participants were included (12 "Beginners" and 9 "Experts"). XTT was shown to possess face and content validity, as evidenced by the rankings given on the simulator's ease of use and realism parameters and on the simulator's usefulness for training. Eight out of nine "Experts" judged the visualization of metrics after the exercises useful. However, face validity has shown some weaknesses regarding interactions and instruments. Reasonable workload parameters were registered. XTT demonstrated excellent face and content validity with acceptable workload parameters. XTT could become a useful tool for robotic surgery team training.

Effect of adding wood vinegar on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L) seed germination

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Ming; Liu, Bingjie; Wang, Xiao

2018-03-01

Wood vinegar, a liquid by-product that was obtained from the condensed vapor generated during the biomass pyrolysis, had been reported as plant growth promotor, but the impact on the plant seeds was still not clear. Thus, we investigated the effects of wood vinegar on the germination and seedling growth of cucumber seeds through the germination experiments. The results showed that the different diluted wood vinegar addition showed no significant difference in the germination rates of cucumber seeds compared to those of the CK treatment (P > 0.05). However, the added wood vinegar at the 10000-time dilution significantly increased the root length and dry biomass of cucumber by 20.9 % and 5.92 %, respectively (P < 0.05). Therefore, the wood vinegar at an optimal time of dilution could be used a promising soaking agent for the seeds germination, and further enhance crop yields.

Genetic relationship of a cucumber germplasm collection revealed ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

SSR is a new marker system which is commonly developed ... A web tool, SSRIT (http://www.gramene.org/db/markers/ssrtool), was used for searching SSRs in the unigenes with the crite- ..... genomic library of cucumber (Cucumis sativus).

The relationship of psychological trauma with trichotillomania and skin picking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Özten E

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Eylem Özten,1 Gökben Hızlı Sayar,1 Gül Eryilmaz,1 Gaye Kağan,2 Sibel Işik,3 Oğuz Karamustafalioğlu4 1Neuropsychiatry Health, Practice, and Research Center, Üsküdar University, 2Istanbul Neuropsychiatry Hospital, Üsküdar University, 3Turkish Red Crescent Altintepe Medical Center, 4Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Üsküdar University, Istanbul, Turkey Objective: Interactions between psychological, biological and environmental factors are important in development of trichotillomania and skin picking. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship of traumatic life events, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociation in patients with diagnoses of trichotillomania and skin picking disorder.Methods: The study included patients who was diagnosed with trichotillomania (n=23 or skin picking disorder (n=44, and healthy controls (n=37. Beck Depression Inventory, Traumatic Stress Symptoms Scale and Dissociative Experiences Scale were administered. All groups checked a list of traumatic life events to determine the exposed traumatic events.Results: There was no statistical significance between three groups in terms of Dissociative Experiences Scale scores (P=0.07. But Beck Depression Inventory and Traumatic Stress Symptoms Scale scores of trichotillomania and skin picking groups were significantly higher than the control group. Subjects with a diagnosis of trichotillomania and skin picking reported statistically significantly higher numbers of traumatic and negative events in childhood compared to healthy subjects.Conclusion: We can conclude that trauma may play a role in development of both trichotillomania and skin picking. Increased duration of trichotillomania or skin picking was correlated with decreased presence of post-traumatic stress symptoms. The reason for the negatively correlation of severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms and self-harming behavior may be speculated as

Ectopic Expression of CsCTR1, a Cucumber CTR-Like Gene, Attenuates Constitutive Ethylene Signaling in an Arabidopsis ctr1-1 Mutant and Expression Pattern Analysis of CsCTR1 in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beibei Bie

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The gaseous plant hormone ethylene regulates many aspects of plant growth, development and responses to the environment. Constitutive triple response 1 (CTR1 is a central regulator involved in the ethylene signal transduction pathway. To obtain a better understanding of this particular pathway in cucumber, the cDNA-encoding CTR1 (designated CsCTR1 was isolated from cucumber. A sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses revealed that CsCTR1 has a high degree of homology with other plant CTR1 proteins. The ectopic expression of CsCTR1 in the Arabidopsis ctr1-1 mutant attenuates constitutive ethylene signaling of this mutant, suggesting that CsCTR1 indeed performs its function as negative regulator of the ethylene signaling pathway. CsCTR1 is constitutively expressed in all of the examined cucumber organs, including roots, stems, leaves, shoot apices, mature male and female flowers, as well as young fruits. CsCTR1 expression gradually declined during male flower development and increased during female flower development. Additionally, our results indicate that CsCTR1 can be induced in the roots, leaves and shoot apices by external ethylene. In conclusion, this study provides a basis for further studies on the role of CTR1 in the biological processes of cucumber and on the molecular mechanism of the cucumber ethylene signaling pathway.

Ultraviolet-Ray-Induced Sea Cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) Melting Is Mediated by the Caspase-Dependent Mitochondrial Apoptotic Pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Li; Yang, Jing-Feng; Fu, Xi; Dong, Liang; Zhou, Da-Yong; Sun, Li-Ming; Gong, Zhenwei

2018-01-10

Sea cucumber body-wall melting occurs under certain circumstances. We have shown that apoptosis but not autolysis plays a critical role in the initial stage. However, it is still unclear how apoptosis is triggered in this process. In this study, we examined the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the levels of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and Bcl-2-associated X (Bax) proteins, the depolarization of mitochondrial transmembrane potentials, and cytochrome c (Cyt c) release during sea cucumber melting induced by ultraviolet (UV) exposure. We also investigated the contribution of caspase in this process by injecting a pan-caspase inhibitor. Our data showed that UV exposure stimulates ROS production, dysfunction of mitochondria, and the release of Cyt c in sea cucumber coelomic fluid cells and body walls. We found a decrease of Bcl-2 and increase of Bax in the mitochondria after UV exposure. We also demonstrated that these changes are associated with elevated caspase-9 and -3 activity. Finally, our data showed that the inhibition of caspases-9 and -3 using an inhibitor suppresses UV-induced sea cucumber melting. These results suggest that apoptosis during sea cucumber melting is mediated by mitochondrial dysfunction and follows the activation of the caspase-signaling pathway. This study presents a novel insight into the mechanism of sea cucumber melting.

Automatic first-break picking using the instantaneous traveltime attribute

KAUST Repository

Saragiotis, Christos; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

2012-01-01

Picking the first breaks is an important step in seismic processing. The large volume of the seismic data calls for automatic and objective picking. We introduce a new automatic first-break picker, which uses specifically designed time windows

Cucumber Rhizosphere Microbial Community Response to Biocontrol Agent Bacillus subtilis B068150

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lihua Li

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis B068150 has been used as a biocontrol agent against the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum cucumerinum. Cucumber was grown in three soils with strain B068150 inoculated in a greenhouse for 90 days, and the colonization ability of strain B068150 in cucumber rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils was determined. Changes in total bacteria and fungi community composition and structures using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE and sequencing were determined. Colony counts showed that B068150 colonization in the rhizosphere was significantly higher (p < 0.001 than in non-rhizosphere soils. Based on our data, the introduction of B. bacillus B068150 did not change the diversity of microbial communities significantly in the rhizosphere of three soils. Our data showed that population density of B068150 in clay soil had a significant negative correlation on bacterial diversity in cucumber rhizosphere in comparison to loam and sandy soils, suggesting that the impact of B068150 might be soil specific.

Fiscal 1998 achievement report on regional consortium research and development project. Venture business fostering regional consortium--Creation of key industries (Development of Task-Oriented Robot Control System TORCS based on versatile 3-dimensional vision system VVV--Vertical Volumetric Vision); 1998 nendo sanjigen shikaku system VVV wo mochiita task shikogata robot seigyo system TORCS no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

Research is conducted for the development of a highly autonomous robot control system TORCS for the purpose of realizing an automated, unattended manufacturing process. In the development of an interface, an indicating function is built which easily adds or removes job attributes relative to given shape data. In the development of a 3-dimensional vision system VVV, a camera set and a new range finder are manufactured for ranging and recognition, the latter being an improvement from the conventional laser-aided range finder TDS. A 3-dimensional image processor is developed, which picks up pictures at a speed approximately 8 times higher than that of the conventional type. In the development of orbit calculating software programs, a job planner, an operation planner, and a vision planner are prepared. A robot program which is necessary for robot operation is also prepared. In an evaluation test involving a simulated casting line, the pick-and-place concept is successfully implemented for several kinds of cast articles positioned at random on a conveyer in motion. Difference in environmental conditions between manufacturing sites is not pursued in this paper on the ground that such should be discussed on the case-by-case basis. (NEDO)

Effects of Pseudoalteromonas sp. BC228 on digestive enzyme activity and immune response of juvenile sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus)

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yuexin; Sun, Feixue; Zhang, Congyao; Bao, Pengyun; Cao, Shuqing; Zhang, Meiyan

2014-12-01

A marine bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas sp. BC228 was supplemented to feed in a feeding experiment aiming to determine its ability of enhancing the digestive enzyme activity and immune response of juvenile Apostichopus japonicus. Sea cucumber individuals were fed with the diets containing 0 (control), 105, 107 and 109 CFU g-1 diet of BC228 for 45 days. Results showed that intestinal trypsin and lipase activities were significantly enhanced by 107 and 109 CFU g-1 diet of BC228 in comparison with control ( P sea cucumber fed the diet supplemented with 107 CFU g-1 diet of BC228 was significantly higher than that of those fed control diet ( P sea cucumber, respectively, in comparison with other diets ( P Sea cucumbers, 10 each diet, were challenged with Vibrio splendidus NB13 after 45 days of feeding. It was found that the cumulative incidence and mortality of sea cucumber fed with BC228 containing diets were lower than those of animals fed control diet. Our findings evidenced that BC228 supplemented in diets improved the digestive enzyme activity of juvenile sea cucumber, stimulated its immune response and enhanced its resistance to the infection of V. splendidus.

Biological characteristics and pathogenicity of a highly pathogenic Shewanella marisflavi infected sea cucumber (Apostichopus uaponicus)

Science.gov (United States)

Shewanella marisflavi isolate AP629 was characterized as a novel pathogen of sea cucumber. The LD50 values (14 days) in sea cucumber and swordtail fish were 3.89 × 106 and 4.85 × 104 CFU g-1 body weight, respectively. Studies on S. marisflavi had been conducted, including morphology, physiological a...

Using the Min/Max Method for Replenishment of Picking Locations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Apsalons Raitis

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The irregularity of removing quantities from a definite picking location in a warehouse very often results in the stock out in the particular picking address. In practice, the Red Card principle is used to determine a critical level for each picking location when it is necessary to start the replenishment of stock in the picking address. The question is how to calculate an adequate critical level. The guidelines in this paper explain in detail the solution of the problem using the Min/Max stock control method and mathematical algorithms adjusted by authors. In order to check the validity of these mathematical algorithms of the Min/Max method, the simulation modelling has been also done and presented.

Application of wet waste from shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei) with or without sea mud to feeding sea cucumber ( Stichopus monotuberculatus)

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yanfeng; Hu, Chaoqun; Ren, Chunhua

2015-02-01

In the present study, the applicability of the wet waste collected from shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei) to the culture of sea cucumber ( Stichopus monotuberculatus) was determined. The effects of dietary wet shrimp waste on the survival, specific growth rate (SGR), fecal production rate (FPR), ammonia- and nitrite-nitrogen productions of sea cucumber were studied. The total organic matter (TOM) level in the feces of sea cucumber was compared with that in corresponding feeds. Diet C (50% wet shrimp waste and 50% sea mud mash) made sea cucumber grow faster than other diets. Sea cucumber fed with either diet D (25% wet shrimp waste and 75% sea mud mash) or sole sea mud exhibited negative growth. The average lowest total FPR of sea cucumber occurred in diet A (wet shrimp waste), and there was no significant difference in total FPR between diet C and diet E (sea mud mash) ( P > 0.05). The average ammonia-nitrogen production of sea cucumber in different diet treatments decreased gradually with the decrease of crude protein content in different diets. The average highest nitrite-nitrogen production occurred in diet E treatment, and there was no significant difference in nitrite-nitrogen production among diet A, diet B (75% wet shrimp waste and 25% sea mud mash) and diet C treatments ( P > 0.05). In each diet treatment, the total organic matter (TOM) level in feces decreased to different extent compared with that in corresponding feeds.

Bioactive compounds, antioxidant potential, and hepatoprotective activity of sea cucumber (Holothuria atra) against thioacetamide intoxication in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Esmat, Amr Y; Said, Mahmoud M; Soliman, Amel A; El-Masry, Khaled S H; Badiea, Elham Abdel

2013-01-01

The identification of the active phenolic compounds in the mixed extract of sea cucumber (Holothuria atra) body wall by high-performance liquid chromatography and an assessment of its hepatoprotective activity against thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis in rats. Female Swiss albino rats were divided into four groups: normal controls; oral administration of a sea cucumber mixed extract (14.4 mg/kg of body weight) on days 2, 4, and 6 weekly for 8 consecutive weeks; intoxication with thioacetamide (200 mg/kg of body weight, intraperitoneally) on days 2 and 6 weekly for 8 wk; and oral administration of a sea cucumber extract and then intoxication with thioacetamide 2 h later for 8 wk. High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of the sea cucumber mixed extract revealed the presence of some phenolic components, such as chlorogenic acid, pyrogallol, rutin, coumaric acid, catechin, and ascorbic acid. In vitro studies have shown that the extract has a high scavenging activity for the nitric oxide radical, a moderate iron-chelating activity, and a weak inhibitory effect of lipid peroxidation. The subchronic oral administration of sea cucumber extract to the rats did not show any toxic side effects but increased hepatic superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities. The coadministration of sea cucumber extract and thioacetamide (protection modality) normalized serum direct bilirubin, alanine and aspartate aminotransferases, hepatic malondialdehyde, and hydroxyproline concentrations and antioxidant enzyme activities. In addition, the histologic examination of liver sections from the protection group that were stained with hematoxylin and eosin showed substantial attenuation of the degenerative cellular changes and regressions in liver fibrosis and necrosis induced by the thioacetamide intoxication. Sea cucumber mixed extract contains physiologically active phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity, which afforded a potential hepatoprotective activity

Abundance of sea cucumbers on the ecosystem of seagrasses Inunggeh island, Tapanuli Tengah Regency North Sumatera Province

Science.gov (United States)

Wisesa, M. M.; Bakti, D.; Fadhilah, A.

2018-02-01

Unggeh Island is one area that has the potential of Sea Cucumber in the North Sumatra. Sea cucumbers have an important role in ecosystem waters, namely as a deposit feeder. Sea cucumbers can live in shallow waters, such as seagrass ecosystems. The purpose of this study is to knowing the abundance of sea cucumbers in the seagrass ecosystems on the island of Unggeh and to knowing the type of Sea Cucumber. The method used is a transect quadrant method with a size of 5x5 meters, on a transect line with a length of 100 meters. Sampling was done at three points observations, station 1 was at coordinate point 01°34’26,88 "LU and 098°45’40,25" BT, station 2 was at coordinate point 01°34’32,71 "LU and 098°45’37, 58 "BT, station 3 is at the coordinate point 01°34’24,22" LU and 098°45’38,06 "BT. The type of sea cucumber found in the seagrass ecosystem on the Unggeh island Actinopyga ecinites, A. Miliaris, Holothuria scabra. The density at station 1 was 0.16 ind / m2, at station II a density was0.12 ind / m2, at station III a density was 0.08 ind / m2, and the total density at the research location was 0, 32 ind / m2.

A tiling microarray for global analysis of chloroplast genome expression in cucumber and other plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pląder Wojciech

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Plastids are small organelles equipped with their own genomes (plastomes. Although these organelles are involved in numerous plant metabolic pathways, current knowledge about the transcriptional activity of plastomes is limited. To solve this problem, we constructed a plastid tiling microarray (PlasTi-microarray consisting of 1629 oligonucleotide probes. The oligonucleotides were designed based on the cucumber chloroplast genomic sequence and targeted both strands of the plastome in a non-contiguous arrangement. Up to 4 specific probes were designed for each gene/exon, and the intergenic regions were covered regularly, with 70-nt intervals. We also developed a protocol for direct chemical labeling and hybridization of as little as 2 micrograms of chloroplast RNA. We used this protocol for profiling the expression of the cucumber chloroplast plastome on the PlasTi-microarray. Owing to the high sequence similarity of plant plastomes, the newly constructed microarray can be used to study plants other than cucumber. Comparative hybridization of chloroplast transcriptomes from cucumber, Arabidopsis, tomato and spinach showed that the PlasTi-microarray is highly versatile.

Influence of activated charcoal amendment to contaminated soil on dieldrin and nutrient uptake by cucumbers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hilber, Isabel [Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick (Switzerland); Wyss, Gabriela S., E-mail: gabriela.wyss@fibl.or [Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick (Switzerland); Maeder, Paul [Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Ackerstrasse, CH-5070 Frick (Switzerland); Bucheli, Thomas D. [Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART, Reckenholzstr. 191, CH-8046 Zuerich (Switzerland); Meier, Isabel; Vogt, Lea; Schulin, Rainer [Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zuerich, Universitaetstr. 16, CH-8092 Zuerich (Switzerland)

2009-08-15

Activated charcoal (AC) amendments have been suggested as a promising, cost-effective method to immobilize organic contaminants in soil. We performed pot experiments over two years with cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) grown in agricultural soil with 0.07 mg kg{sup -1} of weathered dieldrin and 0, 200, 400, and 800 mg AC per kg soil. Dieldrin fresh weight concentrations in cucumber fruits were significantly reduced from 0.012 to an average of 0.004 mg kg{sup -1}, and total uptake from 2 to 1 mug in the 800 mg kg{sup -1} AC treatment compared to the untreated soil. The treatment effects differed considerably between the two years, due to different meteorological conditions. AC soil treatments did neither affect the availability of nutrients to the cucumber plants nor their yield (total fruit wet weight per pot). Thus, some important prerequisites for the successful application of AC amendments to immobilize organic pollutants in agricultural soils can be considered fulfilled. - The addition of activated charcoal to soil reduced dieldrin residues in cucumbers and did not affect nutrients availability.

Influence of activated charcoal amendment to contaminated soil on dieldrin and nutrient uptake by cucumbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilber, Isabel; Wyss, Gabriela S.; Maeder, Paul; Bucheli, Thomas D.; Meier, Isabel; Vogt, Lea; Schulin, Rainer

2009-01-01

Activated charcoal (AC) amendments have been suggested as a promising, cost-effective method to immobilize organic contaminants in soil. We performed pot experiments over two years with cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) grown in agricultural soil with 0.07 mg kg -1 of weathered dieldrin and 0, 200, 400, and 800 mg AC per kg soil. Dieldrin fresh weight concentrations in cucumber fruits were significantly reduced from 0.012 to an average of 0.004 mg kg -1 , and total uptake from 2 to 1 μg in the 800 mg kg -1 AC treatment compared to the untreated soil. The treatment effects differed considerably between the two years, due to different meteorological conditions. AC soil treatments did neither affect the availability of nutrients to the cucumber plants nor their yield (total fruit wet weight per pot). Thus, some important prerequisites for the successful application of AC amendments to immobilize organic pollutants in agricultural soils can be considered fulfilled. - The addition of activated charcoal to soil reduced dieldrin residues in cucumbers and did not affect nutrients availability.

Nutritional components of the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morakot Sroyraya

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Holothuria scabrais one of the most commercially important species found in the Pacific region. The sea cucumber extracts have been widely reported to have beneficial health effects.The aim of this study was to determine the nutritional compositions of H. scabra, and compare its important nutritional contents with that of other species.Methods:The sea cucumbers were dissected, sliced into small pieces,and then freeze-dried. The nutritional compositions, including proximate composition, amino acids, fatty acids,collagen, GABA, Vitamin A, C, and E of the whole body and body wall of H. scabra,were analyzed.Results:H. scabra contained a high quantity of protein (22.50% in whole body and 55.18% in body wall and very low lipids (1.55% in whole body and 1.02% in body wall. The three most abundant amino acids found in both the whole body and body wall were glycine, glutamic acid, and proline. The main fatty acids found in the whole body were stearic acid and nervonic acid, and in the body wall were arachidonic acid and stearic acid. The whole body and body wall also contained high levels of essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, and collagen, in addition to moderate amounts of vitamin E and low amounts of GABA and vitamin C.Conclusions:The sea cucumber, H. scabra, contained high quantity of protein and very low lipid. It containedhigh essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, nervonic and arachidonic acids, and collagen, which also contained GABA, vitamin C, and vitamin E.

Fucosylated chondroitin sulfate is covalently associated with collagen fibrils in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus body wall.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jun; Chang, Yaoguang; Wu, Fanxiu; Xu, Xiaoqi; Xue, Changhu

2018-04-15

Fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (fCS) is the major carbohydrate constituent of sea cucumber. However, the distribution of fCS in the sea cucumber body wall has not been fully described. We addressed this in the present study employing Apostichopus japonicus as the material, a sea cucumber species with significant commercial importance. It was found that fCS was covalently attached to collagen fibrils via O-glycosidic linkages. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that fCS precipitate was present in gap regions of collagen fibrils as roughly globular or ellipsoidal dots. The fCS dots arranged circumferentially around the fibrils with an axial repeat period that matched the periodicity of the fibrils. Physicochemical analysis indicated that the presence of fCS significantly increased the negative charge of the fibrils. These findings provide novel insight into fCS distribution in the sea cucumber body wall and its supramolecular organization with other macromolecules. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assignment of stock keeping units to parallel undirectional picking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthews, Jason

2015-05-01

Full Text Available An order picking system consisting of a number of parallel unidirectional picking lines is investigated. Stock keeping units (SKUs that are grouped by product type into distributions (DBNs are assigned daily to available picking lines. A mathematical programming formulation and its relaxations is presented. A greedy insertion and a greedy phased insertion are further introduced to obtain feasible results within usable computation times for all test cases. The walking distance of the pickers was shown to decrease by about 22 per cent compared with the current assignment approach. However, product handling and operational risk increases.

Adaptive Motion Planning in Bin-Picking with Object Uncertainties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iversen, Thomas Fridolin; Ellekilde, Lars-Peter; Miró, Jaime Valls

2017-01-01

Doing motion planning for bin-picking with object uncertainties requires either a re-grasp of picked objects or an online sensor system. Using the latter is advantageous in terms of computational time, as no time is wasted doing an extra pick and place action. It does, however, put extra...... requirements on the motion planner, as the target position may change on-the-fly. This paper solves that problem by using a state adjusting Partial Observable Markov Decision Process, where the state space is modified between runs, to better fit earlier solved problems. The approach relies on a set...

Gibberellin Is Involved in Inhibition of Cucumber Growth and Nitrogen Uptake at Suboptimal Root-Zone Temperatures.

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Longqiang Bai

Full Text Available Suboptimal temperature stress often causes heavy yield losses of vegetables by suppressing plant growth during winter and early spring. Gibberellin acid (GA has been reported to be involved in plant growth and acquisition of mineral nutrients. However, no studies have evaluated the role of GA in the regulation of growth and nutrient acquisition by vegetables under conditions of suboptimal temperatures in greenhouse. Here, we investigated the roles of GA in the regulation of growth and nitrate acquisition of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. plants under conditions of short-term suboptimal root-zone temperatures (Tr. Exposure of cucumber seedlings to a Tr of 16°C led to a significant reduction in root growth, and this inhibitory effect was reversed by exogenous application of GA. Expression patterns of several genes encoding key enzymes in GA metabolism were altered by suboptimal Tr treatment, and endogenous GA concentrations in cucumber roots were significantly reduced by exposure of cucumber plants to 16°C Tr, suggesting that inhibition of root growth by suboptimal Tr may result from disruption of endogenous GA homeostasis. To further explore the mechanism underlying the GA-dependent cucumber growth under suboptimal Tr, we studied the effect of suboptimal Tr and GA on nitrate uptake, and found that exposure of cucumber seedlings to 16°C Tr led to a significant reduction in nitrate uptake rate, and exogenous application GA can alleviate the down-regulation by up regulating the expression of genes associated with nitrate uptake. Finally, we demonstrated that N accumulation in cucumber seedlings under suboptimal Tr conditions was improved by exogenous application of GA due probably to both enhanced root growth and nitrate absorption activity. These results indicate that a reduction in endogenous GA concentrations in roots due to down-regulation of GA biosynthesis at transcriptional level may be a key event to underpin the suboptimal Tr

Hemolytic and cytotoxic properties of saponin purified from Holothuria leucospilota sea cucumber.

Science.gov (United States)

Soltani, Mozhgan; Parivar, Kazem; Baharara, Javad; Kerachian, Mohammad Amin; Asili, Javad

2014-10-01

Holothuroids (sea cucumbers) are members of the phylum echinodermata, which produce saponins. Saponins exhibit a wide spectrum of pharmacological and biological activities. In this study, we isolated the crude saponins from the body wall of the dominant Iranian species of sea cucumber, Holothuria leucospilota (H. leucospilota). The purpose of this study was to confirm the presence of saponins in the Persian Gulf H. leucospilota and study the hemolytic and cytotoxic activities of these compounds. The body wall of sea cucumber was dried and powdered and the crude saponins were isolated using various solvents. The crude saponins were further purified by column chromatography using HP-20 resin. The foam test, Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), hemolytic assay, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of saponins. Cytotoxicity was analyzed using a 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay on A549 cells, a human lung cancer cell line. The foam test, hemolytic assay, and TLC supported the presence of saponin compounds in the 80% ethanol fraction of H. leucospilota. The infrared (IR) spectrum of the extract showed hydroxyl (-OH), alkyl (C-H), ether (C-O) and ester (-C=O) absorption characteristic of teriterpenoid saponins. The C-O-C absorption indicated glycoside linkages to the sapogenins. The crude saponin extracted from sea cucumber was cytotoxic to A549 cells. The 80% ethanol fraction of saponin isolated from H. leucospilota exhibited hemolytic activity and offers promise as an anti-cancer candidate.

Influence of sodium chloride, pH, and lactic acid bacteria on anaerobic lactic acid utilization during fermented cucumber spoilage.

Science.gov (United States)

Johanningsmeier, Suzanne D; Franco, Wendy; Perez-Diaz, Ilenys; McFeeters, Roger F

2012-07-01

Cucumbers are preserved commercially by natural fermentations in 5% to 8% sodium chloride (NaCl) brines. Occasionally, fermented cucumbers spoil after the primary fermentation is complete. This spoilage has been characterized by decreases in lactic acid and a rise in brine pH caused by microbial instability. Objectives of this study were to determine the combined effects of NaCl and pH on fermented cucumber spoilage and to determine the ability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) spoilage isolates to initiate lactic acid degradation in fermented cucumbers. Cucumbers fermented with 0%, 2%, 4%, and 6% NaCl were blended into slurries (FCS) and adjusted to pH 3.2, 3.8, 4.3, and 5.0 prior to centrifugation, sterile-filtration, and inoculation with spoilage organisms. Organic acids and pH were measured initially and after 3 wk, 2, 6, 12, and 18 mo anaerobic incubation at 25 °C. Anaerobic lactic acid degradation occurred in FCS at pH 3.8, 4.3, and 5.0 regardless of NaCl concentration. At pH 3.2, reduced NaCl concentrations resulted in increased susceptibility to spoilage, indicating that the pH limit for lactic acid utilization in reduced NaCl fermented cucumbers is 3.2 or lower. Over 18 mo incubation, only cucumbers fermented with 6% NaCl to pH 3.2 prevented anaerobic lactic acid degradation by spoilage bacteria. Among several LAB species isolated from fermented cucumber spoilage, Lactobacillus buchneri was unique in its ability to metabolize lactic acid in FCS with concurrent increases in acetic acid and 1,2-propanediol. Therefore, L. buchneri may be one of multiple organisms that contribute to development of fermented cucumber spoilage. Microbial spoilage of fermented cucumbers during bulk storage causes economic losses for producers. Current knowledge is insufficient to predict or control these losses. This study demonstrated that in the absence of oxygen, cucumbers fermented with 6% sodium chloride to pH 3.2 were not subject to spoilage. However, lactic acid was degraded

Absorption and Transport of Sea Cucumber Saponins from Apostichopus japonicus.

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Li, Shuai; Wang, Yuanhong; Jiang, Tingfu; Wang, Han; Yang, Shuang; Lv, Zhihua

2016-06-17

The present study is focused on the intestinal absorption of sea cucumber saponins. We determined the pharmacokinetic characteristics and bioavailability of Echinoside A and Holotoxin A₁; the findings indicated that the bioavailability of Holotoxin A₁ was lower than Echinoside A. We inferred that the differences in chemical structure between compounds was a factor that explained their different characteristics of transport across the intestine. In order to confirm the absorption characteristics of Echinoside A and Holotoxin A₁, we examined their transport across Caco-2 cell monolayer and effective permeability by single-pass intestinal perfusion. The results of Caco-2 cell model indicate that Echinoside A is transported by passive diffusion, and not influenced by the exocytosis of P-glycoprotein (P-gp, expressed in the apical side of Caco-2 monolayers as the classic inhibitor). The intestinal perfusion also demonstrated well the absorption of Echinoside A and poor absorption of Holotoxin A₁, which matched up with the result of the Caco-2 cell model. The results demonstrated our conjecture and provides fundamental information on the relationship between the chemical structure of these sea cucumber saponins and their absorption characteristics, and we believe that our findings build a foundation for the further metabolism study of sea cucumber saponins and contribute to the further clinical research of saponins.

Methodology of Evaluation of the Impact of Picking Area Location on the Total Costs of Warehouse

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Apsalons Raitis

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The picking system and the layout of the picking area are the key drivers for the evaluation of a warehouse picking cost. There are five variants for organizing the picking process of orders in a warehouse. The choice of a specific variant depends on the total cost of picking. The picking cost is evaluated within an uninterrupted picking process. It means that no stock out occurs in the time period of the picking process. The storing area and the picking area are created as two separate zones for picking quantities of the customer’s orders; the principle of division of orders is observed strictly. Referring to the locations of stock keeping units (SKU, two approaches of the layout of SKU in the picking area can be estimated. The first one is the single picking location for each single SKU, where replenishment is realized in the picking process. The second one - various picking locations for each single SKU, and the replenishment here is realized just only prior to a picking process or after it. The main benefits of the economy of the picking cost as far as these two approaches are concerned are the shortest picking route in the first case and one common replenishment option in the second case.

Effect of NAFTA, EUMFTA and China addition to WTO on the cucumber world market

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Ramon Guajardo-Quiroga

2010-07-01

Full Text Available This study empirically analyzed the potential effects of the complete operation of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, European Union and Mexico Free Trade Agreement (EUMFTA, and the integration of China to the World Trade Organization (WTO, on the cucumber world market. Special emphasis on the impact on Mexico was presented, from a worldwide perspective. A spatial equilibrium model with endogenous prices was constructed for this purpose. Among the findings are: (1 Mexican producers benefited from the complete implementation of NAFTA and EUMFTA. (2 The incorporation of China as a member of the WTO showed a negligible effect on the commercial flows and prices in the cucumber world market. (3 Mexican cucumber production is highly competitive, in the world market, because it has the lowest supply costs.

Aligning Order Picking Methods, Incentive Systems, and Regulatory Focus to Increase Performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Vries, J.; de Koster, R.; Stam, D.

2016-01-01

A controlled field experiment investigates order picking performance in terms of productivity. We examined three manual picker-to-parts order picking methods (parallel, zone, and dynamic zone picking) under two different incentive systems (competition-based vs. cooperation-based) for pickers with

Aligning order picking methods, incentive systems, and regulatory focus to increase performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. de Vries (Jelle); M.B.M. de Koster (René); D.A. Stam (Daan)

2015-01-01

textabstractA unique controlled field experiment investigates order picking performance (in terms of productivity and quality). We examined three manual picker-to-parts order picking methods (parallel, zone, and dynamic zone picking) under two different incentive systems (competition- based versus

Comparative transcriptome analysis of papilla and skin in the sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus.

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Zhou, Xiaoxu; Cui, Jun; Liu, Shikai; Kong, Derong; Sun, He; Gu, Chenlei; Wang, Hongdi; Qiu, Xuemei; Chang, Yaqing; Liu, Zhanjiang; Wang, Xiuli

2016-01-01

Papilla and skin are two important organs of the sea cucumber. Both tissues have ectodermic origin, but they are morphologically and functionally very different. In the present study, we performed comparative transcriptome analysis of the papilla and skin from the sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) in order to identify and characterize gene expression profiles by using RNA-Seq technology. We generated 30.6 and 36.4 million clean reads from the papilla and skin and de novo assembled in 156,501 transcripts. The Gene Ontology (GO) analysis indicated that cell part, metabolic process and catalytic activity were the most abundant GO category in cell component, biological process and molecular funcation, respectively. Comparative transcriptome analysis between the papilla and skin allowed the identification of 1,059 differentially expressed genes, of which 739 genes were expressed at higher levels in papilla, while 320 were expressed at higher levels in skin. In addition, 236 differentially expressed unigenes were not annotated with any database, 160 of which were apparently expressed at higher levels in papilla, 76 were expressed at higher levels in skin. We identified a total of 288 papilla-specific genes, 171 skin-specific genes and 600 co-expressed genes. Also, 40 genes in papilla-specific were not annotated with any database, 2 in skin-specific. Development-related genes were also enriched, such as fibroblast growth factor, transforming growth factor-β, collagen-α2 and Integrin-α2, which may be related to the formation of the papilla and skin in sea cucumber. Further pathway analysis identified ten KEGG pathways that were differently enriched between the papilla and skin. The findings on expression profiles between two key organs of the sea cucumber should be valuable to reveal molecular mechanisms involved in the development of organs that are related but with morphological differences in the sea cucumber.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of papilla and skin in the sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus

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Xiaoxu Zhou

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Papilla and skin are two important organs of the sea cucumber. Both tissues have ectodermic origin, but they are morphologically and functionally very different. In the present study, we performed comparative transcriptome analysis of the papilla and skin from the sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus in order to identify and characterize gene expression profiles by using RNA-Seq technology. We generated 30.6 and 36.4 million clean reads from the papilla and skin and de novo assembled in 156,501 transcripts. The Gene Ontology (GO analysis indicated that cell part, metabolic process and catalytic activity were the most abundant GO category in cell component, biological process and molecular funcation, respectively. Comparative transcriptome analysis between the papilla and skin allowed the identification of 1,059 differentially expressed genes, of which 739 genes were expressed at higher levels in papilla, while 320 were expressed at higher levels in skin. In addition, 236 differentially expressed unigenes were not annotated with any database, 160 of which were apparently expressed at higher levels in papilla, 76 were expressed at higher levels in skin. We identified a total of 288 papilla-specific genes, 171 skin-specific genes and 600 co-expressed genes. Also, 40 genes in papilla-specific were not annotated with any database, 2 in skin-specific. Development-related genes were also enriched, such as fibroblast growth factor, transforming growth factor-β, collagen-α2 and Integrin-α2, which may be related to the formation of the papilla and skin in sea cucumber. Further pathway analysis identified ten KEGG pathways that were differently enriched between the papilla and skin. The findings on expression profiles between two key organs of the sea cucumber should be valuable to reveal molecular mechanisms involved in the development of organs that are related but with morphological differences in the sea cucumber.

Pasteuria penetrans for Control of Meloidogyne incognita on Tomato and Cucumber, and M. arenaria on Snapdragon.

Science.gov (United States)

Kokalis-Burelle, Nancy

2015-09-01

Meloidogyne incognita and Meloidogyne arenaria are important parasitic nematodes of vegetable and ornamental crops. Microplot and greenhouse experiments were conducted to test commercial formulations of the biocontrol agent Pasteuria penetrans for control of M. incognita on tomato and cucumber and M. arenaria on snapdragon. Three methods of application for P. penetrans were assessed including seed, transplant, and post-plant treatments. Efficacy in controlling galling and reproduction of the two root-knot nematode species was evaluated. Seed treatment application was assessed only for M. incognita on cucumber. Pasteuria treatment rates of a granular transplant formulation ranged from 1.5 × 10(5) endospores/cm(3) to 3 × 10(5) endospores/cm(3) of transplant mix applied at seeding. Additional applications of 1.5 × 10(5) endospores/cm(3) of soil were applied as a liquid formulation to soil post-transplant for both greenhouse and microplot trials. In greenhouse cucumber trials, all Pasteuria treatments were equivalent to steamed soil for reducing M. incognita populations in roots and soil, and reducing nematode reproduction and galling. In cucumber microplot trials there were no differences among treatments for M. incognita populations in roots or soil, eggs/g root, or root condition ratings. Nematode reproduction on cucumber was low with Telone II and with the seed treatment plus post-plant application of Pasteuria, which had the lowest nematode reproduction. However, galling for all Pasteuria treatments was higher than galling with Telone II. Root-knot nematode control with Pasteuria in greenhouse and microplot trials varied on tomato and snapdragon. Positive results were achieved for control of M. incognita with the seed treatment application on cucumber.

National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation

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... nor does it host or receive funding from advertising or from the display of commercial content. This site complies to the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here . The National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation ...

Selection Of Suitable Particle Size And Particle Ratio For Japanese Cucumber Cucumis Sativus L. Plants

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Galahitigama GAH

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to select the best particle size of coco peat for cucumber nurseries as well as best particle ratio for optimum plant growth and development of cucumber. The experiment was carried out in International Foodstuff Company and Faculty of Agriculture University of Ruhuna Sri Lanka during 2015 to 2016. Under experiment one three types of different particle sizes were used namely fine amp88040.5mm T2 medium 3mm-0.5mm T3 and coarse 4mm T4 with normal coco peat T1 as treatments. Complete Randomized Design CRD used as experimental design with five replicates. Germination percentage number of leaves per seedling seedling height in frequent day intervals was taken as growth parameters. Analysis of variance procedure was applied to analyze the data at 5 probability level. The results revealed that medium size particle media sieve size 0.5mm -3mm of coco peat was the best particle size for cucumber nursery practice when considered the physical and chemical properties of medium particles of coco peat. In the experiment of selecting of suitable particle ratio for cucumber plants the compressed mixture of coco peat particles that contain 70 ww unsieved coco peat 20 ww coarse particles and 10 ww coconut husk chips 5 12mm has given best results for growth performances compared to other treatments and cucumber grown in this mixture has shown maximum growth and yield performances.

Validation of a virtual reality-based robotic surgical skills curriculum.

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Connolly, Michael; Seligman, Johnathan; Kastenmeier, Andrew; Goldblatt, Matthew; Gould, Jon C

2014-05-01

The clinical application of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) is rapidly increasing. The da Vinci Surgical System™ is currently the only commercially available RAS system. The skills necessary to perform robotic surgery are unique from those required for open and laparoscopic surgery. A validated laparoscopic surgical skills curriculum (fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery or FLS™) has transformed the way surgeons acquire laparoscopic skills. There is a need for a similar skills training and assessment tool specific for robotic surgery. Based on previously published data and expert opinion, we developed a robotic skills curriculum. We sought to evaluate this curriculum for evidence of construct validity (ability to discriminate between users of different skill levels). Four experienced surgeons (>20 RAS) and 20 novice surgeons (first-year medical students with no surgical or RAS experience) were evaluated. The curriculum comprised five tasks utilizing the da Vinci™ Skills Simulator (Pick and Place, Camera Targeting 2, Peg Board 2, Matchboard 2, and Suture Sponge 3). After an orientation to the robot and a period of acclimation in the simulator, all subjects completed three consecutive repetitions of each task. Computer-derived performance metrics included time, economy of motion, master work space, instrument collisions, excessive force, distance of instruments out of view, drops, missed targets, and overall scores (a composite of all metrics). Experienced surgeons significantly outperformed novice surgeons in most metrics. Statistically significant differences were detected for each task in regards to mean overall scores and mean time (seconds) to completion. The curriculum we propose is a valid method of assessing and distinguishing robotic surgical skill levels on the da Vinci Si™ Surgical System. Further study is needed to establish proficiency levels and to demonstrate that training on the simulator with the proposed curriculum leads to improved robotic

Excoriation (skin-picking) disorder in adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leibovici, Vera; Koran, Lorrin M; Murad, Sari

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: We sought to estimate the lifetime prevalence of Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder (SPD) in the Israeli adult population as a whole and compare SPD prevalence in the Jewish and Arab communities. We also explored demographic, medical and psychological correlates of SPD diagnosis. METH......-reported medical and psychiatric comorbidities between the Jewish and Arab subsamples suggest the possibility of cross-cultural variation in the correlates of this disorder.......OBJECTIVE: We sought to estimate the lifetime prevalence of Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder (SPD) in the Israeli adult population as a whole and compare SPD prevalence in the Jewish and Arab communities. We also explored demographic, medical and psychological correlates of SPD diagnosis...

Estimating order-picking times for return heuristic - equations and simulations

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Grzegorz Tarczyński

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Background: A key element of the evaluation of warehouse operation is the average order-picking time. In warehouses where the order-picking process is carried out according to the "picker-to-part" rule the order-picking time is usually proportional to the distance covered by the picker while picking items. This distance can by estimated by simulations or using mathematical equations. In the paper only the best described in the literature one-block rectangular warehouses are considered. Material and methods: For the one-block rectangular warehouses there are well known five routing heuristics. In the paper the author considers the return heuristic in two variants. The paper presents well known Hall's and De Koster's equations for the average distance traveled by the picker while completing items from one pick list. The author presents own proposals for calculating the expected distance. Results: the results calculated by the use of mathematical equations (the formulas of Hall, De Koster and own propositions were compared with the average values obtained using computer simulations. For the most cases the average error does not exceed 1% (except for Hall's equations. To carry out simulation the computer software Warehouse Real-Time Simulator was used. Conclusions: the order-picking time is a function of many variables and its optimization is not easy. It can be done in two stages: firstly using mathematical equations the set of the potentially best variants is established, next the results are verified using simulations. The results calculated by the use of equations are not precise, but possible to achieve immediately. The simulations are more time-consuming, but allow to analyze the order-picking process more accurately.

The genome of the cucumber, Cucumis sativus L

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huang, Sanwen; Li, Ruiqiang; Zhang, Zhonghua

2009-01-01

Cucumber is an economically important crop as well as a model system for sex determination studies and plant vascular biology. Here we report the draft genome sequence of Cucumis sativus var. sativus L., assembled using a novel combination of traditional Sanger and next-generation Illumina GA seq...

The genome of the cucumber, Cucumis sativus L.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huang, S.W.; Li, R.Q.; Vossen, van der E.A.G.

2009-01-01

Cucumber is an economically important crop as well as a model system for sex determination studies and plant vascular biology. Here we report the draft genome sequence of Cucumis sativus var. sativus L., assembled using a novel combination of traditional Sanger and next-generation Illumina GA

Structure and rheological characteristics of fucoidan from sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Long; Xue, Changhu; Chang, Yaoguang; Hu, Yanfang; Xu, Xiaoqi; Ge, Lei; Liu, Guanchen

2015-08-01

Sea cucumber is a traditional health food consumed in East Asia. In this study, fucoidan from sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Aj-FUC) was isolated, and its structure and rheological characteristics were elucidated for the first time. Aj-FUC was a branched polysaccharide mainly composed of a novel repeating unit [α-L-Fucp2(OSO3(-))-1 → 3,(α-L-Fucp-1 → 4-α-L-Fucp-1 →)4-α-L-Fucp2(OSO3(-))-1 → 3-α-L-Fucp2(OSO3(-))], clarified by using a combination of infrared spectroscopy, methylation analysis, enzymatic degradation and nuclear magnetic resonance. In steady shear measurement, Aj-FUC manifested a non-Newtonian shear-thinning behaviour at low shear rate (1-100 S(-1)) while exhibiting a non-Newtonian shear-thickening behaviour at high shear rate (100-1000 S(-1)); salts had limited impact on its flow curve. Comparative study on viscosity and rheological behaviour of Aj-FUC and a linear fucoidan extracted from sea cucumber Acaudina molpadioides suggested that the presence of branch structure might significantly influence the rheological characteristics of fucoidan. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The assessment of skin picking in adolescence: psychometric properties of the Skin Picking Scale-Revised (German version).

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Gallinat, Christina; Keuthen, Nancy J; Stefini, Annette; Backenstrass, Matthias

2017-02-01

Skin picking disorder has received growing attention since the release of DSM-5, yet there are no evidence-based assessment instruments for adolescent samples. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Skin Picking Scale-Revised (SPS-R, German version) in adolescents. A total of 76 adolescents (96% female) completed the SPS-R, the Clinical Psychological Diagnostic System (KPD-38), and a questionnaire assessing demographics and clinical characteristics online. The SPS-R had high internal consistency (α = 0.89) and significant small-to-medium correlations with reduced competence skills, psychological impairment, general life satisfaction, social support, and social problems on the KPD-38. Similar to prior findings for adults, an exploratory factor analysis suggested a two-factor model for the SPS-R in adolescents. Group comparisons failed to show significant differences on SPS-R scores between participants with and without dermatological conditions. The current results suggest that the SPS-R can be useful in adolescent samples as a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of skin picking severity. Future research investigating scale validity and factor structure in a clinical sample of adolescent skin pickers is warranted.

An outbreak of sea cucumbers hinders coral recruitment

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yu-Yang; McCook, Laurence; Jiang, Lei; Lian, Jian-Sheng; Liu, Sheng; Huang, Hui

2018-06-01

An outbreak of a small sessile sea cucumber, Ocnus sanya, occurred on the degraded Luhuitou coral reef in Sanya Bay, Hainan, China. This study explored the pattern of distribution of O. sanya on the reef and the impacts of the high abundance of O. sanya on post-settlement mortality of Pocillopora damicornis recruits. The density of O. sanya ranged from about 500 to over 2000 individuals m-2 with 10.95-23.69% cover on hard substrate. Terracotta tiles with O. sanya on the surface accumulated 19.7% more surface sediment than those without sea cucumbers. Post-settlement P. damicornis recruits had significantly higher mortality on terracotta tiles with O. sanya than those without O. sanya after 21 d. Overall, O. sanya appears to increase sediment stress and inhibit coral recruitment, exacerbating the degradation of Luhuitou Reef. This study raises the possibility that such novel outbreak species could contribute significant additional stress on coral reefs at larger scales.

Quantification and role of organic acids in cucumber root exudates in Trichoderma harzianum T-E5 colonization.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Fengge; Meng, Xiaohui; Yang, Xingming; Ran, Wei; Shen, Qirong

2014-10-01

The ability to colonize on plant roots is recognized as one of the most important characteristics of the beneficial fungi Trichoderma spp. The aim of this study is to prove that the utilization of organic acids is a major trait of Trichoderma harzianum T-E5 for colonization of cucumber roots. A series experiments in split-root hydroponic system and in vitro were designed to demonstrate the association between the utilization of organic acids and T-E5 colonization on cucumber roots. In the split-root hydroponic system, inoculation with T-E5 (T) significantly increased the biomass of cucumber plants compared with CK (non-inoculation with T-E5). The T-E5 hyphae densely covering the cucumber root surface were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three organic acids (oxalic acid, malic acid and citric acid) were identified from both the CK and T treatments by HPLC and LC/ESI-MS procedures. The amounts of oxalic acid and malic acid in T were significantly higher than those in CK. All the organic acids exhibited different and significant stimulation effects on the mycelial growth and conidial germination of T-E5 in vitro. An additional hydroponic experiment demonstrated the positive effects of organic acids on the T-E5 colonization of cucumber roots. In conclusion, the present study revealed that certain organic acids could be used as nutritional sources for Trichoderma harzianum T-E5 to reinforce its population on cucumber roots. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The Different Physiological and Antioxidative Responses of Zucchini and Cucumber to Sewage Sludge Application.

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Anna Wyrwicka

Full Text Available The present study investigates the effect of soil amended with sewage sludge on oxidative changes in zucchini and cucumber plants (Cucurbitaceae and the consequent activation of their antioxidative systems and detoxification mechanisms. The plants were grown in pots containing soil amended with three concentrations of sewage sludge (1.8 g, 5.4 g and 10.8 g per pot, while controls were potted with vegetable soil. The activities of three antioxidative enzymes, ascorbate peroxidase (APx, catalase (CAT and guaiacol peroxidase (POx, were assessed, as well as of the detoxifying enzyme S-glutathione transferase (GST. Lipid peroxidation was evaluated by measuring the extent of oxidative damage; α-tocopherol content, the main lipophilic antioxidant, was also measured. Visible symptoms of leaf blade damage after sewage sludge application occurred only on the zucchini plants. The zucchini and cucumber plants showed a range of enzymatic antioxidant responses to sewage sludge application. While APx and POx activities increased significantly with increasing sludge concentration in the zucchini plants, they decreased in the cucumber plants. Moreover, although the activity of these enzymes increased gradually with increasing doses of sewage sludge, these levels fell at the highest dose. An inverse relationship between peroxidases activity and CAT activity was observed in both investigated plant species. In contrast, although GST activity increased progressively with sludge concentration in both the zucchini and cucumber leaves, the increase in GST activity was greater in the zucchini plants, being visible at the lowest dose used. The results indicate that signs of sewage sludge toxicity were greater in zucchini than cucumber, and its defense reactions were mainly associated with increases in APx, POx and GST activity.

The Different Physiological and Antioxidative Responses of Zucchini and Cucumber to Sewage Sludge Application.

Science.gov (United States)

Wyrwicka, Anna; Urbaniak, Magdalena

2016-01-01

The present study investigates the effect of soil amended with sewage sludge on oxidative changes in zucchini and cucumber plants (Cucurbitaceae) and the consequent activation of their antioxidative systems and detoxification mechanisms. The plants were grown in pots containing soil amended with three concentrations of sewage sludge (1.8 g, 5.4 g and 10.8 g per pot), while controls were potted with vegetable soil. The activities of three antioxidative enzymes, ascorbate peroxidase (APx), catalase (CAT) and guaiacol peroxidase (POx), were assessed, as well as of the detoxifying enzyme S-glutathione transferase (GST). Lipid peroxidation was evaluated by measuring the extent of oxidative damage; α-tocopherol content, the main lipophilic antioxidant, was also measured. Visible symptoms of leaf blade damage after sewage sludge application occurred only on the zucchini plants. The zucchini and cucumber plants showed a range of enzymatic antioxidant responses to sewage sludge application. While APx and POx activities increased significantly with increasing sludge concentration in the zucchini plants, they decreased in the cucumber plants. Moreover, although the activity of these enzymes increased gradually with increasing doses of sewage sludge, these levels fell at the highest dose. An inverse relationship between peroxidases activity and CAT activity was observed in both investigated plant species. In contrast, although GST activity increased progressively with sludge concentration in both the zucchini and cucumber leaves, the increase in GST activity was greater in the zucchini plants, being visible at the lowest dose used. The results indicate that signs of sewage sludge toxicity were greater in zucchini than cucumber, and its defense reactions were mainly associated with increases in APx, POx and GST activity.

Outbreak of Salmonella Oslo Infections Linked to Persian Cucumbers - United States, 2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Bottichio, Lyndsay; Medus, Carlota; Sorenson, Alida; Donovan, Danielle; Sharma, Reeti; Dowell, Natasha; Williams, Ian; Wellman, Allison; Jackson, Alikeh; Tolar, Beth; Griswold, Taylor; Basler, Colin

2016-12-30

In April 2016, PulseNet, the national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance, detected a multistate cluster of Salmonella enterica serotype Oslo infections with an indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern (XbaI PFGE pattern OSLX01.0090).* This PFGE pattern was new in the database; no previous infections or outbreaks have been identified. CDC, state and local health and agriculture departments and laboratories, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted epidemiologic, traceback, and laboratory investigations to identify the source of this outbreak. A total of 14 patients in eight states were identified, with illness onsets occurring during March 21-April 9, 2016. Whole genome sequencing, a highly discriminating subtyping method, was used to further characterize PFGE pattern OSLX01.0090 isolates. Epidemiologic evidence indicates Persian cucumbers as the source of Salmonella Oslo infections in this outbreak. This is the fourth identified multistate outbreak of salmonellosis associated with cucumbers since 2013. Further research is needed to understand the mechanism and factors that contribute to contamination of cucumbers during growth, harvesting, and processing to prevent future outbreaks.

Parental Effect of Long Acclimatization on Thermal Tolerance of Juvenile Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

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Qing-Lin Wang

Full Text Available To evaluate the thermal resistance of marine invertebrates to elevated temperatures under scenarios of future climate change, it is crucial to understand parental effect of long acclimatization on thermal tolerance of offspring. To test whether there is parental effect of long acclimatization, adult sea cucumbers (Apostichopus japonicus from the same broodstock were transplanted southward and acclimatized at high temperature in field mesocosms. Four groups of juvenile sea cucumbers whose parents experienced different durations of high temperature acclimatization were established. Upper thermal limits, oxygen consumption and levels of heat shock protein mRNA of juveniles was determined to compare thermal tolerance of individuals from different groups. Juvenile sea cucumbers whose parents experienced high temperature could acquire high thermal resistance. With the increase of parental exposure duration to high temperature, offspring became less sensitive to high temperature, as indicated by higher upper thermal limits (LT50, less seasonal variations of oxygen consumption, and stable oxygen consumption rates between chronic and acute thermal stress. The relatively high levels of constitutive expression of heat-shock proteins should contribute to the high thermal tolerance. Together, these results indicated that the existence of a parental effect of long acclimatization would increase thermal tolerance of juveniles and change the thermal sensitivity of sea cucumber to future climate change.

Design for a three-fingered hand. [robotic and prosthetic applications

Science.gov (United States)

Crossley, F. R. E.

1977-01-01

This paper describes the construction of a prototype mechanical hand or 'end effector' for use on a remotely controlled robot, but with possible application as a prosthetic device. An analysis of hand motions is reported, from which it is concluded that the two most important manipulations (apart from grasps) are to be able to pick up a tool and draw it into a nested grip against the palm, and to be able to hold a pistol-grip tool such as an electric drill and pull the trigger. One of our models was tested and found capable of both these operations.

Effect of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) on the fruit quality of cucumber and the health risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lei; Sun, Xin; Chang, Qin; Tao, Yue; Wang, Lihua; Dong, Junwei; Lin, Yulong; Zhang, Ying

2016-12-01

Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) widely used as plastic films' plasticizer, can cause agricultural pollution which is of increasing concern because of the food safety issues. Cucumber ( Cucumis sativus Linn.), commonly cultured in greenhouse, was exposed to DBP stress to gain more information about the ecological risk of DBP in this study. Changes of DBP residues and fruit quality of cucumber at different DBP concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 mg/kg of dry soil) were investigated in pot experiments using an agricultural soil under greenhouse condition, respectively. DBP residue in cucumber fruits ranged from 0.5326 to 1.8938 mg/kg, and the quality of cucumber fruits (organic acids, vitamin C, soluble protein, and soluble sugar) were influenced by DBP stress. Moreover, the health risk assessment was evaluated by estimate daily intakes (EDI) and the target hazard quotient (THQ) was analyzed. Under 40 mg/kg DBP condition, the highest value of EDI was 2.49 μg/kg bw/day and the THQ ranged from 0.000700 to 0.0249. Although the risk of DBP in cucumber fruits was lower than the threshold limit value of risk, the potential health risk was not a negligible issue.

PICK1 expression in the Drosophila central nervous system primarily occurs in the neuroendocrine system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jansen, Anna M; Nässel, Dick R; Madsen, Kenneth L

2009-01-01

in the adult and larval Drosophila central nervous system. PICK1 was found in cell bodies in the subesophageal ganglion, the antennal lobe, the protocerebrum, and the neuroendocrine center pars intercerebralis. The cell types that express PICK1 were identified using GAL4 enhancer trap lines. The PICK1...... (AMPA) receptor subunit GluR2 and the dopamine transporter. PICK1 is strongly implicated in GluR2 trafficking and synaptic plasticity. In mammals, PICK1 has been characterized extensively in cell culture studies. To study PICK1 in an intact system, we characterized PICK1 expression immunohistochemically...... neurons in the neuroendocrine system, which express the transcription factor DIMM and the amidating enzyme peptidylglycine-alpha-hydroxylating monooxygenase (PHM). The PICK1-positive cells include neurosecretory cells that produce the insulin-like peptide dILP2. PICK1 expression in insulin-producing cells...

Close up of the pick and place tool carrying a dummy silicon sensor.

CERN Multimedia

Bernd Surrow

1999-01-01

The gantry positioning head contains a vacuum pick-up system thatallows several different pick-up tools to be used. This one isdesigned to pick up the silicon sensors. The pick-up tool containsa pressure sensitive contact which can stop the motion of the machine when the tool touches a fixed object. The shiny cylinderis the end of the microscope optics of the CCD camera.

Hemolytic and Cytotoxic Properties of Saponin Purified from Holothuria leucospilota Sea Cucumber

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Mozhgan Soltani

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Holothuroids (sea cucumbers are members of the phylum echinodermata, which produce saponins. Saponins exhibit a wide spectrum of pharmacological and biological activities. In this study, we isolated the crude saponins from the body wall of the dominant Iranian species of sea cucumber, Holothuria leucospilota (H. leucospilota. The purpose of this study was to confirm the presence of saponins in the Persian Gulf H. leucospilota and study the hemolytic and cytotoxic activities of these compounds. Methods: The body wall of sea cucumber was dried and powdered and the crude saponins were isolated using various solvents. The crude saponins were further purified by column chromatography using HP-20 resin. The foam test, Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC, hemolytic assay, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR confirmed the presence of saponins. Cytotoxicity was analyzed using a 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT assay on A549 cells, a human lung cancer cell line. Results: The foam test, hemolytic assay, and TLC supported the presence of saponin compounds in the 80% ethanol fraction of H. leucospilota. The infrared (IR spectrum of the extract showed hydroxyl (-OH, alkyl (C-H, ether (C-O and ester (–C=O absorption characteristic of teriterpenoid saponins. The C-O-C absorption indicated glycoside linkages to the sapogenins. The crude saponin extracted from sea cucumber was cytotoxic to A549 cells. Conclusion: The 80% ethanol fraction of saponin isolated from H. leucospilota exhibited hemolytic activity and offers promise as an anti-cancer candidate.

The role of abscisic acid in regulating cucumber fruit development and ripening and its transcriptional regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yanping; Wang, Ya; Ji, Kai; Dai, Shengjie; Hu, Ying; Sun, Liang; Li, Qian; Chen, Pei; Sun, Yufei; Duan, Chaorui; Wu, Yan; Luo, Hao; Zhang, Dian; Guo, Yangdong; Leng, Ping

2013-03-01

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), a kind of fruit usually harvested at the immature green stage, belongs to non-climacteric fruit. To investigate the contribution of abscisic acid (ABA) to cucumber fruit development and ripening, variation in ABA level was investigated and a peak in ABA level was found in pulp before fruit get fully ripe. To clarify this point further, exogenous ABA was applied to cucumber fruits at two different development stages. Results showed that ABA application at the turning stage promotes cucumber fruit ripening, while application at the immature green stage had inconspicuous effects. In addition, with the purpose of understanding the transcriptional regulation of ABA, two partial cDNAs of CsNCED1 and CsNCED2 encoding 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED), a key enzyme in ABA biosynthetic pathway; one partial cDNA of CsCYP707A1 for 8'-hydroxylase, a key enzyme in the oxidative catabolism of ABA and two partial cDNAs of CsBG1 and CsBG2 for β-glucosidase (BG) that hydrolyzes ABA glucose ester (ABA-GE) to release active ABA were cloned from cucumber. The DNA and deduced amino acid sequences of these obtained genes respectively showed high similarities to their homologous genes in other plants. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that ABA content may be regulated by its biosynthesis (CsNCEDs), catabolism (CsCYP707A1) and reactivation genes (CsBGs) at the transcriptional level during cucumber fruit development and ripening, in response to ABA application, dehydration and pollination, among which CsNCED1, CsCYP707A1 and CsBG1 were highly expressed in pulp and may play more important roles in regulating ABA metabolism. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Effects of endogenous cysteine proteinases on structures of collagen fibres from dermis of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus).

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yu-Xin; Zhou, Da-Yong; Ma, Dong-Dong; Liu, Zi-Qiang; Liu, Yan-Fei; Song, Liang; Dong, Xiu-Ping; Li, Dong-Mei; Zhu, Bei-Wei; Konno, Kunihiko; Shahidi, Fereidoon

2017-10-01

Autolysis of sea cucumber, caused by endogenous enzymes, leads to postharvest quality deterioration of sea cucumber. However, the effects of endogenous proteinases on structures of collagen fibres, the major biologically relevant substrates in the body wall of sea cucumber, are less clear. Collagen fibres were prepared from the dermis of sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus), and the structural consequences of degradation of the collagen fibres caused by endogenous cysteine proteinases (ECP) from Stichopus japonicus were examined. Scanning electron microscopic images showed that ECP caused partial disaggregation of collagen fibres into collagen fibrils by disrupting interfibrillar proteoglycan bridges. Differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared analysis revealed increased structural disorder of fibrillar collagen caused by ECP. SDS-PAGE and chemical analysis indicated that ECP can liberate glycosaminoglycan, hydroxyproline and collagen fragments from collagen fibres. Thus ECP can cause disintegration of collagen fibres by degrading interfibrillar proteoglycan bridges. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

REFUSE OF FERMENTATION BRINES IN THE CUCUMBER PICKLING INDUSTRY

Science.gov (United States)

The project evaluated on a commercial scale the technological and economic feasibility of recycling spent cucumber fermentation brine. Two brine treatment procedures, heat treatment and chemical treatment, were used. The results showed that brine recycling was practical on a comm...

Identification of fucans from four species of sea cucumber by high temperature 1H NMR

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Nian; Chen, Shiguo; Ye, Xingqian; Li, Guoyun; Yin, Li'ang; Xue, Changhu

2014-10-01

Acidic polysaccharide, which has various biological activities, is one of the most important components of sea cucumber. In the present study, crude polysaccharide was extracted from four species of sea cucumber from three different geographical zones, Pearsonothuria graeffei ( Pg) from Indo-Pacific, Holothuria vagabunda ( Hv) from Norwegian Coast, Stichopus tremulu ( St) from Western Indian Ocean, and Isostichopus badionotu ( Ib) from Western Atlantic. The polysaccharide extract was separated and purified with a cellulose DEAE anion-exchange column to obtain corresponding sea cucumber fucans (SC-Fucs). The chemical property of these SC-Fucs, including molecular weight, monosaccharide composition and sulfate content, was determined. Their structure was compared simply with fourier infrared spectrum analyzer and identified with high temperature 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum analyzer (NMR) and room temperature 13C NMR. The results indicated that Fuc- Pg obtained from the torrid zone mainly contained 2,4-O-disulfated and non-sulfated fucose residue, whereas Fuc- Ib from the temperate zone contained non-, 2-O- and 2,4-O-disulfated fucose residue; Fuc- St from the frigid zone and Fuc- Hv from the torrid zone contained mainly non-sulfated fucose residue. The proton of SC-Fucs was better resolved via high temperature 1H NMR than via room temperature 1H NMR. The fingerprint of sea cucumber in different sea regions was established based on the index of anomer hydrogen signal in SC-Fucs. Further work will help to understand whether there exists a close relationship between the geographical area of sea cucumber and the sulfation pattern of SC-Fucs.

Characteristics of the Japanese sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus's population in the Sea of Japan (Kievka Bay)

Science.gov (United States)

Gavrilova, G. S.; Sukhin, I. Yu.

2011-06-01

In Kievka Bay of the Sea of Japan, the population of the Japanese sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus inhabits the areas of coarse sediments and complex bottom topography. These distributional patterns are closely related to the species' ecology, i.e., to the demand for protection against the wave turbulence. The aggregationing coverage of the sea cucumber population is about 80 hectares, where ˜200 thousand animals were accounted for in the last years. The aggregation's area varies during the year, which is closely related to the species' biological peculiarities, such as their behavioral patterns and the redistribution of their food resources. A significant increase of the juvenile population occurred after the farm-reared sea cucumber spat were released in 2003.

Absorption and Transport of Sea Cucumber Saponins from Apostichopus japonicus

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Shuai Li

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The present study is focused on the intestinal absorption of sea cucumber saponins. We determined the pharmacokinetic characteristics and bioavailability of Echinoside A and Holotoxin A1; the findings indicated that the bioavailability of Holotoxin A1 was lower than Echinoside A. We inferred that the differences in chemical structure between compounds was a factor that explained their different characteristics of transport across the intestine. In order to confirm the absorption characteristics of Echinoside A and Holotoxin A1, we examined their transport across Caco-2 cell monolayer and effective permeability by single-pass intestinal perfusion. The results of Caco-2 cell model indicate that Echinoside A is transported by passive diffusion, and not influenced by the exocytosis of P-glycoprotein (P-gp, expressed in the apical side of Caco-2 monolayers as the classic inhibitor. The intestinal perfusion also demonstrated well the absorption of Echinoside A and poor absorption of Holotoxin A1, which matched up with the result of the Caco-2 cell model. The results demonstrated our conjecture and provides fundamental information on the relationship between the chemical structure of these sea cucumber saponins and their absorption characteristics, and we believe that our findings build a foundation for the further metabolism study of sea cucumber saponins and contribute to the further clinical research of saponins.

Effects of heat treatment on the gel properties of the body wall of sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus).

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Kai; Hou, Hu; Bu, Lin; Li, Bafang; Xue, Changhu; Peng, Zhe; Su, Shiwei

2017-03-01

The sensory texture of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus ) was dramatically affected by heat treatment. In this study, sea cucumbers were heated under different thermal conditions (HSC), and divided into five groups (HSC-80, HSC-90, HSC-100, HSC-110, and HSC-120) according to the heating temperature (from 80 to 120 °C). The changes in texture, moisture, gel structure, and biochemical parameters of the HSC were investigated. With increasing heating time (from 10 to 80 min), the hardness and gel structure changed slightly, and the water activity decreased as the proportion of T 21 increased by 133.33, 55.56, and 59.09% in the HSC-80, HSC-90, and HSC-100 groups, respectively. This indicated that moderate heating conditions (below 100 °C) caused gelation of sea cucumbers in HSC-80, HSC-90, and HSC-100 groups. However, as the water activity increased, the hardness declined rapidly by 2.56 and 2.7% in the HSC-110 and HSC-120 groups, with heating time increased from 10 to 80 min. Meanwhile, free hydroxyproline and ammonia nitrogen contents increased by 81.24 and 63.16% in the HSC-110 group; and by 63.09 and 54.99% in the HSC-120 group, as the gel structure of the sea cucumbers decomposed in these two groups. These results demonstrated that, severe heat treatment (above 100 °C) destroyed the chemical bonds, triggered the disintegration of collagen fibers and the gel structure of sea cucumbers, and transformed the migration and distribution of moisture, finally causing the deterioration of the sensory texture of the sea cucumbers.

Lindane residues in cultivated cucumber and in the most consumed fish in Caspian Sea (Iran).

Science.gov (United States)

Shokrzadeh, M; Saeedi Saravi, S S; Zehtab Yazdi, Y

2009-09-01

In this study, the concentrations of lindane residues (organochlorine pesticides) were analyzed in samples of cultivated cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.) and four species of most consumed fish (Sefid, Koli, Kilca and Kafal fish). Samples of cucumber were collected from five sites in Sari city (north, south, east, west and central areas) and samples of fish were caught using electric fishing from four major fishing centers (Chalous and Babolsar cities, Khazar Abad and Miankaleh regions) in Mazandaran province of Iran. Quantitative determination of the lindane content was performed by gas chromatography electron-capture detection (GC-ECD). The results showed that the concentration of lindane in cucumber samples and in the dorsal muscle of the selected fish were less than the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) recommended intake.

Effect of mycorrhizas application on plant growth and nutrient uptake in cucumber production under field conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortas, I.

2010-07-01

Mycorrhizas application in horticultural production in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey has been studied under field conditions for several years. The effects of different arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been evaluated under field conditions for cucumber production. The parameters measured were seedling survival, plant growth and yield, and root colonization. In 1998 and 1999, Glomus mosseae and Glomus etunicatum inoculated cucumber seedlings were treated with and without P (100 kg P2O5 ha-1) application. A second experiment was set up to evaluate the response of cucumber to the inoculation with a consortia of indigenous mycorrhizae, G. mosseae, G. etunicatum, Glomus clarum, Glomus caledonium and a mixture of these four species. Inoculated and control non inoculated cucumber seedlings were established under field conditions in 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2004. Seedling quality, seedling survival under field conditions and yield response to mycorrhiza were tested. Fruits were harvested periodically; at blossom, plant leaves and root samples were taken for nutrient content and mycorrhizal colonization analysis respectively. The field experiment results showed that mycorrhiza inoculation significantly increased cucumber seedling survival, fruit yield, P and Zn shoot concentrations. Indigenous mycorrhiza inoculum was successful in colonizing plant roots and resulted in better plant growth and yield. The relative effectiveness of each of the inocula tested was not consistent in the different experiments, although inoculated plants always grew better than control no inoculated. The most relevant result for growers was the increased survival of seedlings. (Author) 20 refs.

Rationalization of a genebank cucumber collection with SSR markers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dooijeweert, van W.; Treuren, van R.

2012-01-01

The CGN cucumber (Cucumis sativus) collection consists of 937 accessions. The majority of accessions originated from the working collection of the former Institute for Horticultural Plant Breeding (IVT), where they were used for breeding. The collection mainly includes old cultivars received from

Assessment of the sea cucumber resource and fishery in the Bolinao-Anda reef system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronald Dionnie D. Olavides

Full Text Available Fishery-independent and -dependent surveys were conducted to assess the status of the sea cucumber resource and fishery in Bolinao and Anda, Pangasinan. Thirty-five species of holothurians were recorded in 25 sampling stations within seagrass beds, coral reefs and mixed habitats. The estimated total population density of all aspidochirote sea cucumber species is 63 ind. ha-1. The artisanal multi-species fishery is at present primarily based on Holothuria scabra, Stichopus horrens and Bohadschia marmorata although there are indications that other high-value species were fished to local extinction. Taken together, the small sizes (<20 cm body length of the majority of aspidochirote sea cucumbers, their low population densities, and the continuous decrease in catches are clear signs of an overexploited fishery that will likely collapse without management intervention. Adaptive management strategies for Bolinao and Anda are recommended based on the findings of this survey.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and kabocha squash (Cucurbita moschata Duch).

Science.gov (United States)

Nanasato, Yoshihiko; Tabei, Yutaka

2015-01-01

We established improved methods for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and kabocha squash (Cucurbita moschata Duch). Vacuum infiltration of cotyledonary explants with Agrobacterium suspension enhanced the Agrobacterium infection efficiency in the proximal regions of explants. Wounding treatment was also essential for kabocha squash. Cocultivation on filter paper wicks suppressed necrosis of explants, keeping regeneration efficacy. Putative transgenic plants were screened by kanamycin resistance and green fluorescent protein (GFP) fluorescence. These putative transgenic plants grew normally and T1 seeds were obtained, and stable integration and transmission of the transgene in T1 generations were confirmed by Southern hybridization and PCR. The average transgenic efficiency for cucumber and kabocha squash was 11.9 ± 3.5 and 9.2 ± 2.9 %, respectively.

Low temperature {sup 57}Fe Moessbauer study of cucumber root

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kovacs, K; Kuzmann, E; Homonnay, Z; Vertes, A [Institute of Chemistry, Eoetvoes Lorand University, PO Box 32, 1512 Budapest (Hungary); Fodor, F [Department of Plant Physiology and Molecular Plant Biology, Eoetvoes Lorand University, PO Box 32, 1512 Budapest (Hungary); Machala, L, E-mail: kkriszti@chem.elte.h [Centre for Nanomaterial Research, Palacky University, Svobody 26, Olomouc 771 46 (Czech Republic)

2010-03-01

Iron uptake and distribution in cucumber root were studied with the help of {sup 57}Fe Moessbauer spectroscopy at low temperature applying external magnetic field. Cucumber was grown in iron sufficient modified Hoagland nutrient solution. Moessbauer spectra of the frozen roots taken at 4.2 and 1.5 K, at 5 T external magnetic field support the identification of the main iron species (Fe{sup III}-carboxylates, hydrous ferric oxides, Fe{sup III}-sulfate-hydroxide) suggested according to its Moessbauer spectra taken between 35-200 K [1]. The magnetic ordering temperature of the hydrous ferric oxide and Fe{sup III}-sulfate-hydroxide was found to be in the range of 4.2-1.5 K, which suggests the incorporation of H{sub 3}O{sup +}, PO{sub 4}{sup 3-} and citrate into these minerals.

The Sea Cucumber Body Wall Extract Promoted in Vitro Maturation of NMRI Mice Follicles at Germinal Vesicle Stage

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Mitra Khalilzadeh

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background IVM (in vitro maturation appear to be certified high pregnancy outcome. Therefore, attempt to find an appropriate culture system using natural products for increasing developmental competencies fascinating. Objectives This experiment is aimed to evaluate the effect of sea cucumber methanol extract on in vitro maturation of immature mouse oocyte. Methods In this experimental study, Preantral follicles at germinal vesicle stage were collected from 24 - 26 days NMRI female mouse ovaries and transferred to IVM medium supplemented with different concentration of sea cucumber methanol extract (5, 10, 20, 30 µg/mL. Antioxidant capacity of sea cucumber extract was evaluated using DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay. Further, oocyte maturation and TNF-α expression were recorded till day 10th. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA through SPSS 16. Results The percentage of arrested oocyte at germinal vesicle stage in the control group was significantly (P < 0.05 higher than treated group (20 µg/mL. There were significant (P < 0.01 differences in percentage of maturated oocyte to metaphase II (MII stage between treated and control group. DPPH radical scavenging capacity and reduction of TNF-α expression in treated oocyte demonstrated that sea cucumber increased rate of oocyte maturation. In addition, the treated oocyte (20 µg/mL achieved the highest percentage of MII stage. Conclusions It was concluded that the sea cucumber extract with optimum concentration can improve oocyte maturation. Sea cucumber extract treatment can be suggested as a novel therapeutic strategy to be used in infertility modality in the future.

Stock Picking via Nonsymmetrically Pruned Binary Decision Trees

OpenAIRE

Anton Andriyashin

2008-01-01

Stock picking is the field of financial analysis that is of particular interest for many professional investors and researchers. In this study stock picking is implemented via binary classification trees. Optimal tree size is believed to be the crucial factor in forecasting performance of the trees. While there exists a standard method of tree pruning, which is based on the cost-complexity tradeoff and used in the majority of studies employing binary decision trees, this paper introduces a no...

Implementation of a robotic flexible assembly system

Science.gov (United States)

Benton, Ronald C.

1987-01-01

As part of the Intelligent Task Automation program, a team developed enabling technologies for programmable, sensory controlled manipulation in unstructured environments. These technologies include 2-D/3-D vision sensing and understanding, force sensing and high speed force control, 2.5-D vision alignment and control, and multiple processor architectures. The subsequent design of a flexible, programmable, sensor controlled robotic assembly system for small electromechanical devices is described using these technologies and ongoing implementation and integration efforts. Using vision, the system picks parts dumped randomly in a tray. Using vision and force control, it performs high speed part mating, in-process monitoring/verification of expected results and autonomous recovery from some errors. It is programmed off line with semiautomatic action planning.

Order Picking Process in Warehouse: Case Study of Dairy Industry in Croatia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josip Habazin

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The proper functioning of warehouse processes is fundamental for operational improvement and overall logistic supply chain improvement. Order picking is considered one of the most important from the group. Throughout picking orders in warehouses, the presence of human work is highly reflected, with the main goal to reduce the process time as much as possible, that is, to the very minimum. There are several different order picking methods, and nowadays, the most common ones are being developed and are significantly dependent on the type of goods, the warehouse equipment, etc., and those that stand out are scanning and picking by voice. This paper will provide information regarding the dairy industry in the Republic of Croatia with the analysis of order picking process in the observed company. Overall research highlighted the problem and resulted in proposals of solutions.

Niemann-Pick type C disease: molecular mechanisms and potential therapeutic approaches

OpenAIRE

Rosenbaum, Anton I.; Maxfield, Frederick R.

2011-01-01

Cholesterol is an important lipid of mammalian cells. Its unique physicochemical properties modulate membrane behavior and it serves as the precursor for steroid hormones, oxysterols and vitamin D. Cholesterol is effluxed from the late endosomes/lysosomes via the concerted action of at least two distinct proteins: Niemann-Pick C1 and Niemann-Pick C2. Mutations in these two proteins manifest as Niemann-Pick type C disease – a very rare, usually fatal, autosomal, recessive, neurovisceral, lysos...

Regulation of dietary glutamine on the growth, intestinal function, immunity and antioxidant capacity of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka).

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Haibo; Gao, Qinfeng; Dong, Shuanglin; Lan, Ying; Ye, Zhi; Wen, Bin

2016-03-01

The present study examined the effects of dietary glutamine (Gln) on the growth, intestinal function, immunity and antioxidant capacity of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka). The specific growth rate, intestinal morphology, activity of digestive enzymes, activity and gene expression of lysozyme and antioxidative enzymes of the sea cucumbers were determined after feeding 5 experimental diets with additions of increasing levels of Gln (at 0%, 0.4%, 0.8%,1.2% and 1.6%, respectively) for 60 days. We discovered that the specific growth rate of the sea cucumbers in 0.4%, 0.8% and 1.2% groups increased 35.3%, 27.3% and 24.1%, respectively, compared to the control (0%) group with significant differences. Dietary Gln can improve the intestinal function of the sea cucumbers by increasing the activities of trypsin and lipase in the intestine and the villus height and villus density of the intestine, eventhough significant differences were not observed in some groups. 0.4%-0.8% of dietary Gln can significantly increase the activity of lysozyme (LSZ) in the coelomic fluid of the sea cucumbers. Significant improvements were observed on the SOD activity in coelomic fluid of the sea cucumbers fed diets supplemented with 0.4%-1.6% of Gln compared to the control group. Similarly, the CAT activity in coelomic fluid of the sea cucumbers significantly increased in 0.8%, 1.2% and 1.6% groups compared to the control and 0.4% groups. Change pattern of the activity of CAT was consistent with the change pattern of the expression of CAT gene, indicating the dietary Gln can up-regulate the expression of CAT gene and consequently promote the secretion of CAT. However, the down-regulation of the expression of SOD gene by dietary Gln were observed in almost all of the treatment groups, which is in contrast with the change pattern of the activity of SOD, indicating the negative feedback regulation of the secretion of SOD on the expression of SOD gene. In summary, the suitable

Colorimetric detection of Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus using unmodified gold nanoparticles as colorimetric probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lin; Liu, Zhanmin; Xia, Xueying; Yang, Cuiyun; Huang, Junyi; Wan, Sibao

2017-05-01

Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV)causes a severe mosaic symptom of watermelon and cucumber, and can be transmitted via infected cucumber seeds, leaves and soil. It remains a challenge to detect this virus to prevent its introduction and infection and spread in fields. For this purpose, a simple and sensitive label-free colorimetric detection method for CGMMV has been developed with unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as colorimetric probes. The method is based on the finding that the presence of RT-PCR target products of CGMMV and species-specific probes results in color change of AuNPs from red to blue after NaCl induction. Normally, species-specific probes attach to the surface of AuNPs and thereby increasing their resistance to NaCl-induced aggregation. The concentration of sodium, probes in the reaction system and evaluation of specificity and sensitivity of a novel assay, visual detection of Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus using unmodified AuNPs has been carried out with simple preparation of samples in our study. Through this assay, as low as 30pg/μL of CGMMV RNA was thus detected visually, by the naked eye, without the need for any sophisticated, expensive instrumentation and biochemical reagents. The specificity was 100% and exhibited good reproducibility in our assays. The results note that this assay is highly species-specific, simple, low-cost, and visual for easy detection of CGMMV in plant tissues. Therefore, visual assay is a potentially useful tool for middle or small-scales corporations and entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau to detect CGMMV in cucumber seeds or plant tissues. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evolutionary relationship of alfalfa mosaic virus with cucumber mosaic virus and brome mosaic virus

OpenAIRE

Savithri, HS; Murthy, MRN

1983-01-01

The amino acid sequences of the non-structural protein (molecular weight 35,000; 3a protein) from three plant viruses - cucumber mosaic, brome mosaic and alfalfa mosaic have been systematically compared using the partial genomic sequences for these three viruses already available. The 3a protein of cucumber mosaic virus has an amino acid sequence homology of 33.7% with the corresponding protein of brome mosaic virus. A similar protein from alfalfa mosaic virus has a homology of 18.2% and 14.2...

The Effect of Washing and Peeling on Reduction of Dithiocarbamates Residues in Cucumber and Tomato

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Reza Mehrasebi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Dithiocarbamates, the main group of fungicides, are used to control about 400 pathogens in more than 70 crops. These pesticides are widely applied to crops including potato, cereal, apple, pear and leafy vegetables throughout the world since 1960. From the late 1980s, using these fungicides has caused much debate among regulators about their long-term effects on consumers and occupational users. Method: In this study the residues of Dithiocarbamates in cucumber and tomato using the colorimetric method (Keppel method was measured. Respectively 80 and 45 samples of greenhouse cucumber and tomato were collected from Zanjan vegetables center in autumns and winter 2013. The samples were analyzed in 4 treatments of: unwashed, washing with water, washing whit detergent and peeling. Result: The results showed that the average concentration of Dithiocarbamates residues in unwashed greenhouse cucumber and tomatoes were 384.5 µg/kg and 65 µg/kg respectively. 35% and 5% of unwashed and water washed cucumber and tomato samples (respectively had higher Dithiocarbamates residue than MRL recommended by Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (0.5mg/kg. Conclusion: The treatments of washing and peeling had significant effect on the reduction of Dithiocarbamates residues in the all samples.

Pollen irradiation method to obtain mutants in cucumber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iida, S.; Amano, E.

1988-01-01

Seed irradiation for mutation induction in dioecious crops like cucumber is not very useful because chimerism of the mutated tissues makes the segregation of mutants in the M 2 generation nearly impossible. This problem does not exist with pollen irradiation. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. var. Nishikisuyo) was used for a model experiment. The petals of male and female flowers were closed by pinching with binding wire before flowering to prevent pollination by insects. On the flowering day, the male flowers were collected and irradiated with 1kR to 10 kR of acute gamma rays (137-Cs), then used to pollinate the female flowers. The M 1 seeds thus obtained are not chimeric but heterozygous for induced mutations. When planted, no mutant phenotype appeared. Selfing within a plant lead to segregation of mutants in the M 2 generation. Seedling examination revealed eight mutants. One mutant line, in which the shape of leaves changed from pentagonal to round heart shape, was found under field conditions. The optimal dose for pollen irradiation seems to be between 2 kR and 4kR

iTRAQ reveals proteomic changes during intestine regeneration in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Lina; Xu, Dongxue; Xu, Qinzeng; Sun, Jingchun; Xing, Lili; Zhang, Libin; Yang, Hongsheng

2017-06-01

Sea cucumbers have a striking capacity to regenerate most of their viscera after evisceration, which has drawn the interest of many researchers. In this study, the isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) was utilized to investigate protein abundance changes during intestine regeneration in sea cucumbers. A total of 4073 proteins were identified, and 2321 proteins exhibited significantly differential expressions, with 1100 upregulated and 1221 downregulated proteins. Our results suggest that intestine regeneration constitutes a complex life activity regulated by the cooperation of various biological processes, including cytoskeletal changes, extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and ECM-receptor interactions, protein synthesis, signal recognition and transduction, energy production and conversion, and substance transport and metabolism. Additionally, real-time PCR showed mRNA expression of differentially expressed genes correlated positively with their protein levels. Our results provided a basis for studying the regulatory mechanisms associated with sea cucumber regeneration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Profiling and comparison of color body wall transcriptome of normal juvenile sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus) and those produced by crossing albino

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Deyou; Yang, Hongsheng; Sun, Lina

2014-12-01

Sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus) is one of the most important aquaculture animals in China. Usually its normal body color is black that fits its living environment. The juvenile individuals obtained by crossing albino sea cucumber segregated in body color. To document the transcriptome difference between albino associating sea cucumber and the control, we sequenced their transcriptomes with RNA-seq. Approximately, 4.790 million (M) and 4.884 M reads, 200 nt in length, were generated from the body wall of albino associating sea cucumber and the control, respectively, from them, 9550 (46.81%) putative genes were identified. In total, 583 genes were found to express differentially between albino associating sea cucumber and the control. Of these differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 4.8% changed more than five-folds. The expression levels of eight DEGs were confirmed with real-time PCR. The changing trend of these DEGs detected with real-time PCR agreed well with that detected with RNA-seq, although the change degree of some DEGs was different. Four significantly enriched pathways were identified for DEGs, which included phagocytosis, Staphylococcus aureus infection, ECM-receptor interaction and focal adhesion. These pathways were helpful for understanding the physiological difference between albino associating sea cucumber and the control.

Insights into salicylic acid responses in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cotyledons based on a comparative proteomic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, J H; Dong, C J; Zhang, Z G; Wang, X L; Shang, Q M

2012-05-01

To investigate the response of cucumber seedlings to exogenous salicylic acid (SA) and gain a better understanding of SA action mechanism, we generated a proteomic profile of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cotyledons treated with exogenous SA. Analysis of 1500 protein spots from each gel revealed 63 differentially expressed proteins, 59 of which were identified successfully. Of the identified proteins, 97% matched cucumber proteins using a whole cucumber protein database based on the newly completed genome established by our laboratory. The identified proteins were involved in various cellular responses and metabolic processes, including antioxidative reactions, cell defense, photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, respiration and energy homeostasis, protein folding and biosynthesis. The two largest functional categories included proteins involved in antioxidative reactions (23.7%) and photosynthesis (18.6%). Furthermore, the SA-responsive protein interaction network revealed 13 key proteins, suggesting that the expression changes of these proteins could be critical for SA-induced resistance. An analysis of these changes suggested that SA-induced resistance and seedling growth might be regulated in part through pathways involving antioxidative reactions and photosynthesis. © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coat protein sequence shows that Cucumber mosaic virus isolate

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

A viral disease was identified on geraniums (Pelargonium spp.) grown in a greenhouse at the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur, exhibiting mild mottling and stunting. The causal virus (Cucumber mosaic virus, CMV) was identified and characterized on the basis of host range, aphid ...

Overview of CMS robotic silicon module assembly hardware based on Aerotech Gantry Positioning system.

CERN Multimedia

Honma, Alan

1999-01-01

The goal of the robotic silicon module assembly pilot project is to fully automate the gluing and pick and placement of silicon sensors and front-end hybrid onto a carbon-fibre frame. The basis for thesystem is the Aerotech Gantry Positioning System (AGS10000) machineshown in the centre of the picture. To the left is the PC which contains the controller card and runs the user interface. To the rightis the rack of associated electronics which interfaces with the CERNbuilt tooling and vacuum chuck system.

Extraction and Characterization of Collagen from Sea Cucumber Flesh

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Alhana

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Sea cucumber (Stichopus variegatus is one of the Echinodermata phylum that grows along Indonesian coastal. Sea cucumber is potential source of collagen. The purposes of this research were to determine the optimal concentration of NaOH and CH3COOH solution in collagen production and analyze the physicochemical characteristics of collagen from S. variegatus. Yield of the collagen was 1.5% (based on wet weight basis, produced by pretreatment with NaOH 0,30%, hydrolysis with CH3COOH 0.10% and extracted using distilled water. Protein, moisture, and ash content of the collagen was 67.68%, 13.64%, and 4.15%, respectively. Collagen was extracted using distilled water at 45°C during 2h and still had triple helix structure ; pH 7.37 ; melting temperature 163.67°C and whiteness 69.25%. The major amino acid content of collagen were glycine, alanine, proline and glutamic acid.

Pick-up and impact of flexible bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, H.; Hanna, J. A.

2017-09-01

Picking up, laying down, colliding, rolling, and peeling are partial-contact interactions involving moving discontinuities. We examine the balances of momentum and energy across a moving discontinuity in a string, with allowance for injection or dissipation by singular supplies. We split the energy dissipation according to its invariance properties, discuss analogies with systems of particles and connections with the literature on shocks and phase transition fronts in various bodies, and derive a compatibility relation between supplies of momentum and translation-invariant energy. For a moving contact discontinuity between a string and a smooth rigid plane in the presence of gravity, we find a surprising asymmetry between the processes of picking up and laying down, such that steady-state kinks in geometry and associated jumps in tension are not admissible during pick-up. This prediction is consistent with experimental observations. We briefly discuss related problems including the falling folded chain, peeling of an adhesive tape, and the "chain fountain". Our approach is applicable to the study of impact and locomotion, and to systems such as moored floating structures and some musical instruments that feature vibrating string and cable elements interacting with a surface.

the effect of cucumber ( ) extract on acid induced corneal burn

African Journals Online (AJOL)

LIVINGSTON

The groups were CB group treated with cucumber bark extract only,. CP group treated with .... maintenance of healthy bone, teeth and gums. It actsasanantioxidant . ... burn in the eyes of the guinea pigs included; slight hyperemia, lid edema ...

Sulfated polysaccharides with antioxidant and anticoagulant activity from the sea cucumber Holothuria fuscogliva

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Rongfeng; Yu, Huahua; Yue, Yang; Liu, Song; Xing, Rong'e.; Chen, Xiaolin; Li, Pengcheng

2017-07-01

Sea cucumber is a traditional nutritional food and medicinal resource with many bioactive components in China. Holothuria fuscogliva is a big sea cucumber with a rich of bioactive polysaccharides. To investigate the bioactivities of the polysaccharides from sea cucumber H. fuscogliva, we prepared the sulfated polysaccharides (HfP) from sea cucumber H. fuscogliva using a protease hydrolysis method. Antioxidant activities of HfP were investigated, including hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and superoxide radical scavenging activity. And, the anticoagulant activities of HfP were studied, including the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT) and thrombin time (TT). The average molecular weight was 1 867.1 Da, with a sulfate content of 20.7%. In addition, the molar ratio of monosaccharide composition of HfP was Man: Rha: Glc A: Glc: Gal: Xyl: Fuc=0.083 6: 0.437: 0.134: 0:1.182: 0.748: 1. It had a strong antioxidant activity, the hydroxyl and superoxide radical scavenging activity EC50 of HfP was 3.74 and 0.037 mg/mL, respectively. It also showed a good anticoagulant activity in our study. The APTT of HfP was much higher than that of heparin sodium, and the PT and TT of HfP was close to that of heparin sodium at a low concentration. Therefore, HfP shows a good antioxidant and anticoagulant activity and it may become a potential candidate of the natural antioxidant and anticoagulant and will have a good application future in health product or medicine industry.

Genetics Home Reference: Niemann-Pick disease

Science.gov (United States)

... are compartments within cells that break down and recycle different types of molecules. Acid sphingomyelinase is responsible ... A, Brodie SE, Desnick RJ, Wasserstein MP. Natural history of Type A Niemann-Pick disease: possible endpoints ...

Wilted cucumber plants infected by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum do not suffer from water shortage.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yuming; Wang, Min; Li, Yingrui; Gu, Zechen; Ling, Ning; Shen, Qirong; Guo, Shiwei

2017-09-01

Fusarium wilt is primarily a soil-borne disease and results in yield loss and quality decline in cucumber (Cucumis sativus). The main symptom of fusarium wilt is the wilting of entire plant, which could be caused by a fungal toxin(s) or blockage of water transport. To investigate whether this wilt arises from water shortage, the physiological responses of hydroponically grown cucumber plants subjected to water stress using polyethylene glycol (PEG, 6000) were compared with those of plants infected with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (FOC). Parameters reflecting plant water status were measured 8d after the start of treatment. Leaf gas exchange parameters and temperature were measured with a LI-COR portable open photosynthesis system and by thermal imaging. Chlorophyll fluorescence and chloroplast structures were assessed by imaging pulse amplitude-modulated fluorometry and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. Cucumber water balance was altered after FOC infection, with decreased water absorption and hydraulic conductivity. However, the responses of cucumber leaves to FOC and PEG differed in leaf regions. Under water stress, measures of lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde) and chlorophyll fluorescence indicated that the leaf edge was more seriously injured, with a higher leaf temperature and disrupted leaf water status compared with the centre. Here, abscisic acid (ABA) and proline were negatively correlated with water potential. In contrast, under FOC infection, membrane damage and a higher temperature were observed in the leaf centre while ABA and proline did not vary with water potential. Cytologically, FOC-infected cucumber leaves exhibited circular chloroplasts and swelled starch grains in the leaf centre, in which they again differed from PEG-stressed cucumber leaves. This study illustrates the non-causal relationship between fusarium wilt and water transport blockage. Although leaf wilt occurred in both water stress and FOC infection, the

Effects of Hanseniaspora opuntiae C21 on the growth and digestive enzyme activity of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yuexin; Liu, Zhiming; Yang, Zhiping; Bao, Pengyun; Zhang, Congyao; Ding, Jianfeng

2014-07-01

The effects of a diet containing Hanseniaspora opuntiae C21 on growth and digestive enzyme activity were estimated in juvenile Apostichopus japonicus. Groups of sea cucumbers were fed diets containing H. opuntiae C21 at 0 (control), 104, 105, and 106 CFU (colony-forming units)/g feed. Results showed that after 45 d the specific growth rate (SGR) of sea cucumbers fed a C21-supplemented diet at 10 4 CFU/g feed was significantly higher than that of the control ( P sea cucumbers. In addition, after feeding the C21-supplemented diets for 15 d, the sea cucumbers were switched to an unsupplemented diet and C21 was confirmed to be capable of colonizing the intestine for at least 31 d after cessation of feeding. In conclusion, C21 was shown to successfully colonize the intestine of juvenile A. japonicus via dietary supplementation, and improve growth and digestive enzyme activity.

Effects of dietary cadmium on growth, antioxidants and bioaccumulation of sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) and influence of dietary vitamin C supplementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Ren, Tongjun; Wang, Fuqiang; Han, Yuzhe; Liao, Mingling; Jiang, Zhiqiang; Liu, Haiying

2016-07-01

The effects of dietary cadmium (Cd) supplementation on growth, antioxidant capacity and accumulation of Cd in tissues (body wall, digestive tracts, and respiratory tree) of sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, exposed to sub-chronic concentrations (0, 10, 50, 100, and 500mg Cd/kg dry weight) of Cd were investigated. In addition, the potential protective effects of vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid, AsA) against the effects of Cd on sea cucumbers were investigated. Sea cucumbers were exposed to dietary Cd for 30 days, after which another group of healthy sea cucumbers was supplied diet supplemented with mixed Cd and AsA for another 30 days. Cd exposure for 30 days resulted in increased Cd accumulation in tissues of sea cucumbers with exposure time and concentration. The order of Cd accumulation in organs was digestive tracts>respiratory tree>body wall. On day 30, the body weight gain (BWG) and specific growth rate (SGR) decreased significantly (Psea cucumbers decreased with increasing dietary Cd concentration, but malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the coelomic fluid increased. Providing diet supplemented with Cd and AsA indicated that although sea cucumbers exhibited signs of Cd toxicity, no death occurred in response to 50mg Cd/kg for 30 days. Based on these findings, five treatments were provided: 50mg Cd/kg+0mg AsA/kg, 50mg Cd/kg+ 3000mg AsA/kg, 50mg Cd/kg+ 5000mg AsA/kg, 50mg Cd/kg+10,000mg AsA/kg, and 50mg Cd/kg+15,000mg AsA/kg. The BWG and SGR of sea cucumbers fed the AsA supplemented diet mixed with Cd increased. Additionally, MDA levels in coelomic fluid were negatively correlated with dietary AsA levels, while antioxidant capacities (SOD, GSH-Px and CAT) were positively correlated with dietary AsA levels. Moreover, Cd accumulation in tissues decreased in response to dietary AsA supplementation of treatments. Overall, antioxidant capacity and bioaccumulation in sea cucumber was found to decrease and be induced in response to Cd, but vitamin C mitigated these

PAL-XFEL cavity beam position monitor pick-up design and beam test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sojeong, E-mail: sojung8681@postech.ac.kr; Park, Young Jung; Kim, Changbum; Kim, Seung Hwan; Shin, Dong Cheol; Han, Jang-Hui; Ko, In Soo

2016-08-11

As an X-ray Free Electron Laser, PAL-XFEL is about to start beam commissioning. X-band cavity beam position monitor (BPM) is used in the PAL-XFEL undulator beam line. Prototypes of cavity BPM pick-up were designed and fabricated to test the RF characteristics. Also, the beam test of a cavity BPM pick-up was done in the Injector Test Facility (ITF). In the beam test, the raw signal properties of the cavity BPM pick-up were measured at a 200 pC bunch charge. According to the RF test and beam test results, the prototype cavity BPM pick-up design was confirmed to meet the requirements of the PAL-XFEL cavity BPM system.

Grafting improves cucumber water stress tolerance in Saudi Arabia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdulaziz R. Al-Harbi

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Water scarcity is a major limiting factor for crop productivity in arid and semi-arid areas. Grafting elite commercial cultivars onto selected vigorous rootstocks is considered as a useful strategy to alleviate the impact of environmental stresses. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using grafting to improve fruit yield and quality of cucumber under water stress conditions. Alosama F1 cucumber cultivar (Cucumis sativus L. was grafted onto Affyne (Cucumis sativus L. and Shintoza A90 (Cucurbitamaxima × C. moschata rootstocks. Non-grafted plants were used as control. All genotypes were grown under three surface drip irrigation regimes: 50%, 75% and 100% of the crop evapotranspiration (ETc, which represent high-water stress, moderate-water stress and non-water stress conditions, respectively. Yield and fruit quality traits were analyzed and assessed. In comparison to the non-grafted plants, the best grafting treatment under water stress was Alosama F1 grafted onto Shintoza A90 rootstock. It had an overall improved yield and fruit quality under water stress owing to an increase in the total fruit yield by 27%, from 4.815 kg plant−1 in non-grafted treatment to 6.149 kg plant−1 in grafted treatment under moderate -water stress, total soluble solid contents (13%, titratable acidity (39% and vitamin C (33%. The soil water contents were low in soil surface and increase gradually with soil depth, while salt distribution showed an adverse trend. The positive effects of grafting on plant growth, productivity, and water use efficiency support this strategy as an useful tool for improving water stress tolerance in greenhouse grown cucumber in Saudi Arabia.

Grafting improves cucumber water stress tolerance in Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Harbi, Abdulaziz R; Al-Omran, Abdulrasoul M; Alharbi, Khadiga

2018-02-01

Water scarcity is a major limiting factor for crop productivity in arid and semi-arid areas. Grafting elite commercial cultivars onto selected vigorous rootstocks is considered as a useful strategy to alleviate the impact of environmental stresses. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using grafting to improve fruit yield and quality of cucumber under water stress conditions. Alosama F 1 cucumber cultivar ( Cucumis sativus L.) was grafted onto Affyne ( Cucumis sativus L.) and Shintoza A90 ( Cucurbitamaxima × C. moschata ) rootstocks. Non-grafted plants were used as control. All genotypes were grown under three surface drip irrigation regimes: 50%, 75% and 100% of the crop evapotranspiration (ETc), which represent high-water stress, moderate-water stress and non-water stress conditions, respectively. Yield and fruit quality traits were analyzed and assessed. In comparison to the non-grafted plants, the best grafting treatment under water stress was Alosama F 1 grafted onto Shintoza A90 rootstock. It had an overall improved yield and fruit quality under water stress owing to an increase in the total fruit yield by 27%, from 4.815 kg plant -1 in non-grafted treatment to 6.149 kg plant -1 in grafted treatment under moderate -water stress, total soluble solid contents (13%), titratable acidity (39%) and vitamin C (33%). The soil water contents were low in soil surface and increase gradually with soil depth, while salt distribution showed an adverse trend. The positive effects of grafting on plant growth, productivity, and water use efficiency support this strategy as an useful tool for improving water stress tolerance in greenhouse grown cucumber in Saudi Arabia.

Systems pharmacology-based drug discovery for marine resources: an example using sea cucumber (Holothurians).

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yingying; Ding, Yan; Xu, Feifei; Liu, Baoyue; Kou, Zinong; Xiao, Wei; Zhu, Jingbo

2015-05-13

Sea cucumber, a kind of marine animal, have long been utilized as tonic and traditional remedies in the Middle East and Asia because of its effectiveness against hypertension, asthma, rheumatism, cuts and burns, impotence, and constipation. In this study, an overall study performed on sea cucumber was used as an example to show drug discovery from marine resource by using systems pharmacology model. The value of marine natural resources has been extensively considered because these resources can be potentially used to treat and prevent human diseases. However, the discovery of drugs from oceans is difficult, because of complex environments in terms of composition and active mechanisms. Thus, a comprehensive systems approach which could discover active constituents and their targets from marine resource, understand the biological basis for their pharmacological properties is necessary. In this study, a feasible pharmacological model based on systems pharmacology was established to investigate marine medicine by incorporating active compound screening, target identification, and network and pathway analysis. As a result, 106 candidate components of sea cucumber and 26 potential targets were identified. Furthermore, the functions of sea cucumber in health improvement and disease treatment were elucidated in a holistic way based on the established compound-target and target-disease networks, and incorporated pathways. This study established a novel strategy that could be used to explore specific active mechanisms and discover new drugs from marine sources. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficacy of the “pick and roll” offense in top level European basketball teams

Science.gov (United States)

Marmarinos, Christos; Kostopoulos, Nikolaos; Apostolidis, Alexandros

2016-01-01

Abstract Team offense in basketball games consists of a set of offensive actions carried out with the cooperation of two or more players. Of these actions, the most commonly used in the last decade is the on-ball screen called the “pick and roll.” The aim of this study was to analyze all of the pick and rolls conducted in the Euroleague championship from all of the 24 participating teams and to investigate the possible relationships between success in the pick and roll and overall success of the teams. For this purpose, 12,376 pick and rolls from 502 matches were analyzed and classified in categories according to the end result of the offensive possession. The results showed that the most effective type of pick and roll offense was when a shot was attempted after 2 passes from the pick and roll occurrence, followed by the screener’s shot when he rolled to the basket. Additionally, linear regression analysis confirmed that pick and roll effectiveness could predict the final classification of the teams. Conclusively, coaches of the high level European clubs should focus on training the players to the most efficient phases of the pick and roll offense, so that the chances of winning the championship to be maximized. PMID:28149375

Efficacy of the “pick and roll” offense in top level European basketball teams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marmarinos Christos

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Team offense in basketball games consists of a set of offensive actions carried out with the cooperation of two or more players. Of these actions, the most commonly used in the last decade is the on-ball screen called the “pick and roll.” The aim of this study was to analyze all of the pick and rolls conducted in the Euroleague championship from all of the 24 participating teams and to investigate the possible relationships between success in the pick and roll and overall success of the teams. For this purpose, 12,376 pick and rolls from 502 matches were analyzed and classified in categories according to the end result of the offensive possession. The results showed that the most effective type of pick and roll offense was when a shot was attempted after 2 passes from the pick and roll occurrence, followed by the screener’s shot when he rolled to the basket. Additionally, linear regression analysis confirmed that pick and roll effectiveness could predict the final classification of the teams. Conclusively, coaches of the high level European clubs should focus on training the players to the most efficient phases of the pick and roll offense, so that the chances of winning the championship to be maximized.

Glass foam granulate as growing medium for tomato and cucumber

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blok, C.; Winkel, van A.; Chizhmak, S.

2011-01-01

Glass foam granulate was evaluated for use as a horticultural rooting medium with laboratory tests and cultivation experiments. The laboratory tests included moisture characteristics, rehydration rate and pH buffering analyses. Cucumbers and later on tomatoes were propagated in rockwool propagation

Sea Cucumber Lipid-Soluble Extra Fraction Prevents Ovalbumin-Induced Allergic Airway Inflammation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Da-In; Kang, Shin Ae; Md, Anisuzzaman; Jeong, U-Cheol; Jin, Feng; Kang, Seok-Joong; Lee, Jeong-Yeol; Yu, Hak Sun

2018-01-01

In a previous study, our research group demonstrated that sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) extracts ameliorated allergic airway inflammation through CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3 + T (regulatory T; Treg) cell activation and recruitment to the lung. In this study, we aimed to determine which components of sea cucumber contribute to the amelioration of airway inflammation. We used n-hexane fractionation to separate sea cucumber into three phases (n-hexane, alcohol, and solid) and evaluated the ability of each phase to elevate Il10 expression in splenocytes and ameliorate symptoms in mice with ovalbumin (OVA)/alum-induced asthma. Splenocytes treated with the n-hexane phase showed a significant increase in Il10 expression. In the n-hexane phase, 47 fatty acids were identified. Individual fatty acids that comprised at least 5% of the total fatty acids were 16:0, 16:1n-7, 18:0, 18:1n-7, 20:4n-6, and 20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid). After administering the n-hexane phase to mice with OVA/alum-induced asthma, their asthma symptoms were ameliorated. Several immunomodulatory effects were observed in the n-hexane phase-pretreated group, compared with a vehicle control group. First, eosinophil infiltration and goblet cell hyperplasia were significantly reduced around the airways. Second, the concentrations of Th2-related cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) and Th17-related cytokines (IL-17) were significantly decreased in the spleen and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Finally, the concentrations of TGF-β and IL-10, which are associated with Treg cells, were significantly increased in the BALF and splenocyte culture medium. In conclusion, a fatty acid-rich fraction (n-hexane phase) of sea cucumber extract ameliorated allergic airway inflammation in a mouse model.

Anticancer Activity of Sea Cucumber Triterpene Glycosides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dmitry L. Aminin

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Triterpene glycosides are characteristic secondary metabolites of sea cucumbers (Holothurioidea, Echinodermata. They have hemolytic, cytotoxic, antifungal, and other biological activities caused by membranotropic action. These natural products suppress the proliferation of various human tumor cell lines in vitro and, more importantly, intraperitoneal administration in rodents of solutions of some sea cucumber triterpene glycosides significantly reduces both tumor burden and metastasis. The anticancer molecular mechanisms include the induction of tumor cell apoptosis through the activation of intracellular caspase cell death pathways, arrest of the cell cycle at S or G2/M phases, influence on nuclear factors, NF-κB, and up-down regulation of certain cellular receptors and enzymes participating in cancerogenesis, such as EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor, Akt (protein kinase B, ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinases, FAK (focal adhesion kinase, MMP-9 (matrix metalloproteinase-9 and others. Administration of some glycosides leads to a reduction of cancer cell adhesion, suppression of cell migration and tube formation in those cells, suppression of angiogenesis, inhibition of cell proliferation, colony formation and tumor invasion. As a result, marked growth inhibition of tumors occurs in vitro and in vivo. Some holothurian triterpene glycosides have the potential to be used as P-gp mediated MDR reversal agents in combined therapy with standard cytostatics.

Non-destructive root oxygen use measurement III : cucumber propagation in rockwool in a climate chamber, July-August 2001

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gérard, S.; Blok, C.

2001-01-01

Cucumbers were propagated in rockwool cubes in a climate cell for four weeks. The complete root system of each cucumber was enclosed in an airtight box. Each box was connected to an air bag, which acted as an air reservoir. A peristaltic pump ensured air circulation in the system. The goal of this

[Effects of different NO3--N/NH4+-N ratios on cucumber seedlings growth, nitrogen absorption and metabolism under suboptimal temperature and light intensity].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiao Cui; Liu, Yu Mei; Bai, Long Qiang; He, Chao Xing; Yu, Xian Chang; Li, Yan Su

2016-08-01

Cucumber (cv. Zhongnong 26) was used as material, the effects of NO 3 - -N/NH 4 + -N ratios on growth and physiological characteristics of cucumber seedlings under suboptimal temperature and light intensity (18 ℃/10 ℃,180 ± 20 μmol·m -2 ·s -1 ) were studied. Total nitrogen in the nutrient solution was equal and three NO 3 - -N/NH 4 + -N ratios, 26:2, 21:7 and 14:14, were applied as treatments. The results showed that cucumber treated by NO 3 - -N/NH 4 + -N=21:7 had the longest total root length, the biggest root volume and root surface area, and the maximum number of root tips. H + -ATPase activity and relative expression of genes encoding nitrate transporter (NRT) and ammonium transporter (AMT) in cucumber roots were increased significantly by the treatment of NO 3 - -N/NH 4 + -N=21:7. In addition, nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutamate synthase (GOGAT) in cucumber leaves under the treatment of NO 3 - -N/NH 4 + -N=21:7 were higher. As a result, the nitrogen content and biomass of cucumber were significantly increased. Compared with the plants under the treatment of NO 3 - -N/NH 4 + -N=26:2 or 14:14, cucumber seedlings under the treatment of NO 3 - -N/NH 4 + -N=21:7 had the highest biomass and total dry mass (DM) which were increased by 14.0% and 19.3% respectively under suboptimal temperature and light intensity. In conclusion, under suboptimal environmental conditions, NO 3 - -N/NH 4 + -N ratio could be adjusted to increase nitrogen absorption and metabolism of cucumber and alleviate the de-trimental effects caused by suboptimal conditions and promoted the cucumber growth.

A Preliminary Analysis of the Phenomenology of Skin-Picking in Prader-Willi Syndrome

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Jessica R.; Storch, Eric A.; Woods, Douglas W.; Bodzin, Danielle; Lewin, Adam B.; Murphy, Tanya K.

2010-01-01

To examine the nature and psychosocial correlates of skin-picking behavior in youth with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Parents of 67 youth (aged 5-19 years) with PWS were recruited to complete an internet-based survey that included measures of: skin-picking behaviors, the automatic and/or focused nature of skin-picking, severity of skin-picking…

Effects of dietary n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) on growth, fatty acid profiles, antioxidant capacity and immunity of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka).

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Haibo; Gao, Qinfeng; Dong, Shuanglin; Zhou, Jishu; Ye, Zhi; Lan, Ying

2016-07-01

The present study was conducted to understand the effects of dietary n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) on growth, fatty acid profiles, antioxidant capacity and the immunity of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka). Five experimental diets were prepared, containing graded levels of n-3 HUFAs (0.46%, 0.85%, 1.25%, 1.61% and 1.95%, respectively), and the 0.46% group was used as control group. The specific growth rates, fatty acid profiles, activities and gene expression of antioxidative enzymes and lysozyme of the sea cucumbers that were fed with the 5 experimental diets were determined. The results showed that the specific growth rate of sea cucumbers in all the treatment groups significantly increased compared to the control group (P sea cucumbers. The contents of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) in the body wall of the sea cucumbers gradually increased with the increasing levels of n-3 HUFAs in the diets. The suitable supplement of n-3 HUFAs in diets improved the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) of sea cucumbers by up-regulating the expression of SOD and CAT mRNA in sea cucumbers. However, excess n-3 HUFAs in diets caused lipid peroxidation, inhibited the expression of lysozyme (LSZ) mRNA and decreased the activities of LSZ in sea cucumbers. In summary, the suitable supplement levels of n-3 HUFAs in diets of sea cucumbers A. japonicus were estimated between 0.85% and 1.25% considering the growth performance, cost and the indicators of antioxidant capacity and immunity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Skin Picking in Turkish Students: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Gender Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Calikusu, Celal; Kucukgoncu, Suat; Tecer, Ozlem; Bestepe, Emrem

2012-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence, characteristics, triggers, and consequences of skin picking (SP) in a sample of Turkish university students, with an emphasis on gender differences. A total of 245 students from two universities in Turkey were assessed by using the Skin Picking Inventory. In total, 87.8% of the students…

Some physiological and biochemical responses to copper of detached cucumber (cucumis sativus l.) cotyledons pre-floated in salicylic acid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulengul, S.C.; Yildiz, T.; Deveci, D.

2017-01-01

Salicylic acid (SA) is a growth regulator that promotes growth of plants under stress and non-stress conditions. In the present investigation we studied the role of salicylic acid in copper induced physiological and biochemical changes and the possible induction of oxidative stress in detached cucumber cotyledons. Detached cotyledons of young cucumber seedlings were floated in 150 ppm SA. Then, the responses of these cotyledons to different concentrations (0, 10, 20 ve 50 mM) of copper (CuCl2. H2O) were investigated. In detached cucumber cotyledons exposed to increasing Cu concentrations, the fresh weight accumulation and the photosynthetic pigment content were decreased. Furthermore, the levels of some important parameters regarding oxidative stress in the cotyledons, namely lipid peroxidation (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and proline were increased. In the detached cucumber cotyledons pre-floation process with SA alleviated the negative effect of Cu ( 20 mM and 50 mM Cu) on growth parameters. (author)

Identification of microRNAs associated with the exogenous spermidine-mediated improvement of high-temperature tolerance in cucumber seedlings (Cucumis sativus L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ying; Guo, Shirong; Wang, Lei; Wang, Liwei; He, Xueying; Shu, Sheng; Sun, Jin; Lu, Na

2018-04-24

High-temperature stress inhibited the growth of cucumber seedlings. Foliar spraying of 1.0 mmol·L - 1 exogenous spermidine (Spd) to the sensitive cucumber cultivar 'Jinchun No. 2' grown at high-temperature (42 °C/32 °C) in an artificial climate box improved the high-temperature tolerance. Although there have been many reports on the response of microRNAs (miRNAs) to high-temperature stress, the mechanism by which exogenous Spd may mitigate the damage of high-temperature stress through miRNA-mediated regulation has not been studied. To elucidate the regulation of miRNAs in response to exogenous Spd-mediated improvement of high-temperature tolerance, four small RNA libraries were constructed from cucumber leaves and sequenced: untreated-control (CW), Spd-treated (CS), high-temperature stress (HW), and Spd-treated and high-temperature stress (HS). As a result, 107 known miRNAs and 79 novel miRNAs were identified. Eight common differentially expressed miRNAs (miR156d-3p, miR170-5p, miR2275-5p, miR394a, miR479b, miR5077, miR5222 and miR6475) were observed in CS/CW, HW/CW, HS/CW and HS/HW comparison pairs, which were the first set of miRNAs that responded to not only high-temperature stress but also exogenous Spd in cucumber seedlings. Five of the eight miRNAs were predicted to target 107 potential genes. Gene function and pathway analyses highlighted the integral role that these miRNAs and target genes probably play in the improvement of the high-temperature tolerance of cucumber seedlings through exogenous Spd application. Our study identified the first set of miRNAs associated with the exogenous Spd-mediated improvement of high-temperature tolerance in cucumber seedlings. The results could help to promote further studies on the complex molecular mechanisms underlying high-temperature tolerance in cucumber and provide a theoretical basis for the high-quality and efficient cultivation of cucumber with high-temperature resistance.

Development of fatty acid biomarkers for the identification of wild and aquacultured sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus)

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Zadorozhnyj, P. A.; Pivnenko, T. N.; Kovalev, N. N.

2016-02-01

In this study, the fatty acids (FAs) of the organs and tissues of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus) were profiled in order to compare the FA composition of sea cucumber collected from natural habitat (wild) and cages (cultured). The differences in FA contents in dermomuscular tube, peripharyngeal annulus, gonad and intestine (with or without content) between the wild and the cultured were determined. The main fatty acids in all organs and tissues were 20:5n-3, 16:1n-7, 20:4n-6, 22:6n-3, 18:0, and 18:1n-7. The basically different FAs of body wall and digestive tube were 16:1n-7, 18:1n-9 and 20:1n-11. The ratio of saturated to mono- and polyunsaturated FAs in digestive tube was independent on inside content while there was a redistribution of the total amount of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids. The comparison of FA composition of the wild and the cultured sea cucumber showed that 20:5n-3, 16:1n-7 and 18:1n-7 predominated the wild while 20:4n-6 predominated the cultured. The content of branched-chain fatty acids in the wild was 3%-4% and about 9% in the cultured. The possible FAs for identifying the wild and the cultured sea cucumbers were selected. It was suggested that the indexes such as the ratio of either (n-3:n-6) to (n-7:n-6) or (n-3) + (n-7) to (n-6) may serve as the biomarkers distinguishing the wild and the cultured sea cucumber.

STAYGREEN (CsSGR) is a candidate for the anthracnose (Colletotrichum orbiculare) resistance locus cla in Gy14 cucumber.

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Pan, Junsong; Tan, Junyi; Wang, Yuhui; Zheng, Xiangyang; Owens, Ken; Li, Dawei; Li, Yuhong; Weng, Yiqun

2018-04-21

Map-based cloning identified a candidate gene for resistance to the anthracnose fungal pathogen Colletotrichum orbiculare in cucumber, which reveals a novel function for the highly conserved STAYGREEN family genes for host disease resistance in plants. Colletotrichum orbiculare is a hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen that causes anthracnose disease in cucumber and other cucurbit crops. No host resistance genes against the anthracnose pathogens have been cloned in crop plants. Here, we reported fine mapping and cloning of a resistance gene to the race 1 anthracnose pathogen in cucumber inbred lines Gy14 and WI 2757. Phenotypic and QTL analysis in multiple populations revealed that a single recessive gene, cla, was underlying anthracnose resistance in both lines, but WI2757 carried an additional minor-effect QTL. Fine mapping using 150 Gy14 × 9930 recombinant inbred lines and 1043 F 2 individuals delimited the cla locus into a 32 kb region in cucumber Chromosome 5 with three predicted genes. Multiple lines of evidence suggested that the cucumber STAYGREEN (CsSGR) gene is a candidate for the anthracnose resistance locus. A single nucleotide mutation in the third exon of CsSGR resulted in the substitution of Glutamine in 9930 to Arginine in Gy14 in CsSGR protein which seems responsible for the differential anthracnose inoculation responses between Gy14 and 9930. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that CsSGR was significantly upregulated upon anthracnose pathogen inoculation in the susceptible 9930, while its expression was much lower in the resistant Gy14. Investigation of allelic diversities in natural cucumber populations revealed that the resistance allele in almost all improved cultivars or breeding lines of the U.S. origin was derived from PI 197087. This work reveals an unknown function for the highly conserved STAYGREEN (SGR) family genes for host disease resistance in plants.

Diets containing sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus meals are hypocholesterolemic in young rats.

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Leticia Olivera-Castillo

Full Text Available Sea cucumber is widely consumed as a putative functional food. It contains many biologically-active substances, but only limited research on its properties in vivo has been done. The effects of different meals containing Isostichopus badionotus, a sea cucumber from southeast Mexico, on growth performance and body lipid profile in young rats were analyzed. Sea cucumber body wall was either lyophilized, cooked (100 °C, 1 h in water and lyophilized, or oven-dried (70 °C for 12 h. It was then ground and incorporated into cholesterol-containing diets. I. badionotus meals supported growth and improved lipid profile in rats. In particular, serum cholesterol, low density lipoproteins, triglycerides concentration and atherogenic index values were greatly reduced by some I. badionotus containing diets. Liver total lipids, triglycerides and cholesterol were also reduced. Cooking or heat-treatment of the meals lowered but did not abolish their hypolipidemic potency. Gene expression analysis of several key genes involved in cholesterol and lipid metabolism in liver showed that diets containing I. badionotus repressed the induction of key genes associated with dyslipidemia exerted by cholesterol supplementation. Consumption of I. badionotus from the Yucatan Peninsula is beneficial for dyslipidemia, although biological effect is clearly dependent on preparation method.

Importance of prumycin produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SD-32 in biocontrol against cucumber powdery mildew disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Keijitsu; Fukuda, Mutsumi; Amaki, Yusuke; Sakaguchi, Takatoshi; Inai, Koji; Ishihara, Atsushi; Nakajima, Hiromitsu

2017-12-01

Powdery mildew disease of cucurbits is caused mainly by Podosphaera fusca, which is one of the most important limiting factors in cucurbit production worldwide. Previously we reported that Bacillus amyloliquefaciens biocontrol strain SD-32 produces C 17 bacillomycin D and [Ile 2002]surfactin, and that these metabolites play important roles in SD-32's biocontrol over cucumber gray mold disease. Our further investigation demonstrated that the culture broth and its supernatant suppressed cucumber powdery mildew disease in greenhouse experiments. However, the active principle(s) remained unknown. The active compound was isolated from the culture supernatant after anti-powdery mildew disease activity-guided purification and identified as prumycin. Prumycin significantly suppressed the disease, whereas bacillomycin D and [Ile 2002]surfactin did not. Prumycin did not induce the expression of plant defense genes (PR1a and VSP1), suggesting that it does not act via plant defense response. Light microscopic observations of prumycin-treated cucumber cotyledon suggested that prumycin inhibits the conidial germination of P. fusca. This study demonstrates that prumycin is a major factor in SD-32's suppression of cucumber powdery mildew disease. Our findings shed light for the first time on prumycin's role in biocontrol by Bacillus against this disease. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

The number of pickers and stock-keeping unit arrangement on a uni-directional picking line

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Hagspihl, Robert

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The order picking process is often the single largest expense in a distribution centre (DC. The DC considered in this paper uses a picking line configuration to perform order picking. The number of pickers in a picking line, and the initial arrangement of stock-keeping units (SKUs, are two important factors that affect the total completion time of the picking lines. In this paper, the picking line configuration is simulated with an agent-based approach to describe the behaviour of an individual picker. The simulation is then used to analyse the effect of the number of pickers and the SKU arrangement. Verification and validation of this model shows that the model represents the real-world picking line to a satisfactory degree. Marginal analysis (MA was chosen to determine a ‘good’ number of pickers by means of the simulation model. A look-up table is presented to provide decision support for the choice of a ‘good’ number of pickers to improve completion times of the picking line, for the properties of a specific picking line. The initial SKU arrangement on a picking line is shown to be a factor that can affect the level of picker congestion and the total completion time. The greedy ranking and partitioning (GRP and organ pipe arrangement (OPA techniques from the literature, as well as the historical SKU arrangements used by the retailer under consideration, were compared with the proposed classroom discipline heuristic (CDH for SKU arrangement. It was found that the CDH provides an more even spread of SKUs that are picked most frequently, thus decreasing congestion and total completion time.

Differential effects of organic compounds on cucumber damping-off and biocontrol activity of antagonistic bacteria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Bin; Ravnskov, Sabine; Guanlin, X.

2011-01-01

The influence of the organic compounds tryptic soy broth, cellulose, glucose and chitosan on cucumber damping-off caused by Pythium aphanidermatum and biocontrol efficacy of the biocontrol agents (BCAs) Paenibacillus macerans and P. polymyxa were examined in a seedling emergence bioassay. Results...... showed that the organic compounds differentially affected both pathogen and BCAs. Tryptic soy broth, glucose and chitosan increased Pythium damping-off of cucumber, compared to the control treatment without organic compounds, whereas cellulose had no effect. Both Paenibacillus species had biocontrol...

Non-destructive geographical traceability of sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) using near infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometric methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xiuhan; Cai, Rui; Wang, Shisheng; Tang, Bo; Li, Yueqing; Zhao, Weijie

2018-01-01

Sea cucumber is the major tonic seafood worldwide, and geographical origin traceability is an important part of its quality and safety control. In this work, a non-destructive method for origin traceability of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus ) from northern China Sea and East China Sea using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and multivariate analysis methods was proposed. Total fat contents of 189 fresh sea cucumber samples were determined and partial least-squares (PLS) regression was used to establish the quantitative NIRS model. The ordered predictor selection algorithm was performed to select feasible wavelength regions for the construction of PLS and identification models. The identification model was developed by principal component analysis combined with Mahalanobis distance and scaling to the first range algorithms. In the test set of the optimum PLS models, the root mean square error of prediction was 0.45, and correlation coefficient was 0.90. The correct classification rates of 100% were obtained in both identification calibration model and test model. The overall results indicated that NIRS method combined with chemometric analysis was a suitable tool for origin traceability and identification of fresh sea cucumber samples from nine origins in China.

Growth and yield of grafted cucumbers in soil infested with root-knot nematodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smiljana Goreta Ban

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the effect of rootstocks on the growth and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. plants in soils infested with root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp. Cucumber 'Adrian' was grown with its own roots or was grafted onto three rootstocks of Lagenariasiceraria (Molina Standi. ('Emphasis', 'S-1', and 'Gourd', two interspecific hybrid rootstocks of Cucurbita maxima Duchesne x C. moschata Duchesne ('Strong Tosa' and 'RS 841 Improved' and zucchini Cucurbita pepo L. ('Romanesco Zucchini'. The experiments were conducted in commercial greenhouse, with cucumber grafted onto three rootstocks in the first season and onto six rootstocks in the second spring-summer season. The number of leaves was considerably affected by the rootstock in both seasons, and was the highest for the plants grafted onto interspecific rootstocks (28.0 in the first and 44.9 in the second season. The plants grafted onto 'Strong Tosa' had higher total number of fruits (19.9 and yield (5.38 kg compared to other rootstocks or non-grafted plants in first season, and the same result was found for two interspecific rootstocks in the second season (6.96 kg and more than 28.9 fruits per plant. The total soluble solids, pH and electrical conductivity of the fruit were not affected by rootstock, while titratable acidity changed with the rootstock type. The grafting of cucumber plants onto different rootstocks was confirmed as an acceptable non-chemical method to compete with the limitations of soils infected with root-knot nematodes, but the effect was highly dependent on the choice of the rootstock.

Vinegar residue compost as a growth substrate enhances cucumber resistance against the Fusarium wilt pathogen Fusarium oxysporum by regulating physiological and biochemical responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Lu; Du, Nanshan; Yuan, Yinghui; Shu, Sheng; Sun, Jin; Guo, Shirong

2016-09-01

Fusarium wilt caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (FOC) is the most severe soil-borne disease attacking cucumber. To assess the positive effects of vinegar residue substrate (VRS) on the growth and incidence of Fusarium wilt on cucumber, we determined the cucumber growth parameters, disease severity, defense-related enzyme and pathogenesis-related (PR) protein activities, and stress-related gene expression levels. In in vitro and pot experiments, we demonstrated the following results: (i) the VRS extract exhibited a higher biocontrol activity than that of peat against FOC, and significantly improved the growth inhibition of FOC, with values of 48.3 %; (ii) in response to a FOC challenge, antioxidant enzymes and the key enzymes of phenylpropanoid metabolic activities, as well as the PR protein activities in the roots of cucumber, were significantly increased. Moreover, the activities of these proteins were higher in VRS than in peat; (iii) the expression levels of stress-related genes (including glu, pal, and ethylene receptor) elicited responses to the pathogens inoculated in cucumber leaves; and (iv) the FOC treatment significantly inhibited the growth of cucumber seedlings. Moreover, all of the growth indices of plants grown in VRS were significantly higher than those grown in peat. These results offer a new strategy to control cucumber Fusarium wilt, by upregulating the activity levels of defense-related enzymes and PR proteins and adjusting gene expression levels. They also provide a theoretical basis for VRS applications.

Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity of peptide from sea cucumber ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

enzyme complex, sea cucumber protein hydrolysis was carried out to obtain hydrolysates that have hydroxyl-radical-scavenging activity (HRSA). The hydrolytic process was monitored by HRSA and conditions for this process were optimized as follows: pH 6.5, temperature 35°C, 12 mg enzyme complex in a reaction solution ...

Comparisons of dioxin levels of cucumber varieties and cultivation periods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eun, H.; Watanabe, E.; Ishii, Y.; Ueji, M. [National Inst. for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba (Japan); Narita, I.; Nakamura, K. [Saitama Prefecture Agriculture and Forestry Research Center, Saitama (Japan)

2004-09-15

According to a 2001 survey on Daily Intake in Japan, the total dioxins intake of a person in Japan amounts to 1.68 pg-TEQ per kg of body weight/day on average. The sharing a percentage of agricultural crops was about 3%in Japanese TDI amounts. However, all cases collect samples from supermarkets to estimate TDI of dioxins, which make it difficult to understand under what environment, food samples were pretreated and cultivated. Especially, TDI values in agricultural crops are probably dependent on the collection situation. In the agricultural environment, some reports indicate that dioxins have accumulated in paddy and upland in Japan due to the past use of some types of agricultural chemicals, which contained dioxins as impurities. Furthermore, taking the atmospheric pathway, for example, dioxins in the ambient air are associated with particulate matter and fall to the ground, contaminating agricultural land. Thus, it has been emphasized that dioxin compounds have a possibility to have adverse effect on vegetables. However, there is little understanding related to this fact in the country and worldwide. Empirical studies conducted in Japan and abroad have reported low residual concentrations of dioxins in cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.), a member of the gourd family. However, there have been extremely few instances of research involving overall comparisons of cultivation environments. Thus, we studied the persistence of dioxins in cucumbers of different varieties cultivated outdoors over varying cultivation periods, conducting thorough experiments to elucidate the actual conditions and mechanisms of dioxin contamination of cucumbers.

Structural analysis and anticoagulant activities of two sulfated polysaccharides from the sea cucumber Holothuria coluber.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Wenjiao; Cai, Ying; Yin, Ronghua; Lin, Lisha; Li, Zhongkun; Wu, Mingyi; Zhao, Jinhua

2018-05-01

Sulfated polysaccharides such as fucosylated glycosaminoglycan and fucan sulfate from echinoderm possess complex chemical structure and various biological activities. The two sulfated polysaccharides were purified from the low-value sea cucumber Holothuria coluber. Their physicochemical properties and chemical structures were analyzed and characterized by chemical and instrumental methods. Structural analysis clarified that the sea cucumber fucosylated glycosaminoglycan contains a chondroitin sulfate-like backbone and fucosyl branches with four various sulfation patterns. The fucan sulfate with molecular weight of 64.6 kDa comprises a central core of regular α(1 → 4)-linked tetrasaccharide repeating units, each of which is linked by a 4-O-sulfated fucose residue. Anticoagulant assays indicated that these sulfated polysaccharides possessed strong APTT prolonging activities and intrinsic factor Xase inhibitory activities, both of which decreased with the reduction of their molecular weights. Our results expand knowledge on the structural types of sulfated polysaccharides from sea cucumbers and further illustrate their functionality. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Synthesis of Pyrimethanil-Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles and Its Distribution and Dissipation in Cucumber Plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Pengyue; Cao, Lidong; Ma, Dukang; Zhou, Zhaolu; Huang, Qiliang; Pan, Canping

2017-05-16

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles are used as pesticide carries in plants, which has been considered as a novel method to reduce the indiscriminate use of conventional pesticides. In the present work, mesoporous silica nanoparticles with particle diameters of 200-300 nm were synthesized in order to obtain pyrimethanil-loaded nanoparticles. The microstructure of the nanoparticles was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The loading content of pyrimethanil-loaded nanoparticles was investigated. After treatment on cucumber leaves, the concentrations of pyrimethanil were determined in different parts of cucumber over a period of 48 days using high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. It was shown that the pyrimethanil-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles might be more conducive to acropetal, rather than basipetal, uptake, and the dosage had almost no effect on the distribution and dissipation rate in cucumber plants. The application of the pesticide-loaded nanoparticles in leaves had a low risk of pyrimethanil accumulating in the edible part of the plant.

Induction of drought tolerance in cucumber plants by a consortium of three plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium strains.

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Chun-Juan Wang

Full Text Available Our previous work showed that a consortium of three plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR strains (Bacillus cereus AR156, Bacillus subtilis SM21, and Serratia sp. XY21, termed as BBS for short, was a promising biocontrol agent. The present study investigated its effect on drought tolerance in cucumber plants. After withholding watering for 13 days, BBS-treated cucumber plants had much darker green leaves and substantially lighter wilt symptoms than control plants. Compared to the control, the BBS treatment decreased the leaf monodehydroascorbate (MDA content and relative electrical conductivity by 40% and 15%, respectively; increased the leaf proline content and the root recovery intension by 3.45-fold and 50%, respectively; and also maintained the leaf chlorophyll content in cucumber plants under drought stress. Besides, in relation to the control, the BBS treatment significantly enhanced the superoxide dismutase (SOD activity and mitigated the drought-triggered down-regulation of the expression of the genes cAPX, rbcL, and rbcS encoding cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase, and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxy/oxygenase (Rubisco large and small subunits, respectively, in cucumber leaves. However, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC deaminase activity was undetected in none of the culture solutions of three BBS constituent strains. These results indicated that BBS conferred induced systemic tolerance to drought stress in cucumber plants, by protecting plant cells, maintaining photosynthetic efficiency and root vigor and increasing some of antioxidase activities, without involving the action of ACC deaminase to lower plant ethylene levels.

Partial purification of elicitors from Lentinula edodes basidiocarps protecting cucumber seedlings against Colletotrichum lagenarium

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Di Piero Robson M.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes has been used in research involving the prevention and the control of human and plant diseases. In cucumber plants, treated with aqueous extracts from mushroom basidiocarps, there was a reduction in anthracnose severity caused by Colletotrichum lagenarium, and an increase in peroxidase activity in the leaves. With the aim of obtaining molecules of agronomic interest, the crude aqueous extract from L. edodes basidiocarp was fractioned with ammonium sulfate. The fraction corresponding to 40-80% of saturation (p40-80, the most effective in reducing anthracnose on cucumber cotyledons, was submitted to anion exchange chromatography (AEC. After AEC, six protein peaks were obtained and the peak V, containing 34% of the proteins present in p40-80, induced peroxidase increase in the cucumber cotyledons besides reducing anthracnose severity. Separation of peak V proteins by SDS-gel electrophoresis revealed the presence of more than one band in the gel. Thus, a partial purification of elicitors present in the L. edodes basidiocarp was achieved.

Determination of Benzoate Level in Canned Pickles and Pickled Cucumbers in Food Producing Factories in Markazi Province and those that their Products were Sold in Arak City, Iran

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Mostafa Delavar

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Anecdotal information has suggested that sodium benzoate is used with more than permissible doses during production steps of food products especially pickles and pickled cucumbers in food producing factories in Markazi province and other food producing factories . The present study was done to evaluate factual concentration of sodium benzoate in these products. Methods: In this study, 8 samples from canned pickled cucumbers and 10 samples from canned pickles were randomly gathered from food production factories in Markazi province between March and September 2010. Also, 25 samples from canned pickled cucumbers and 15 samples from canned pickles and 7 samples of bulk cargo pickled cucumbers were collected from the other provinces in Arak city. Sodium benzoate level was determined in the samples using UV-VIS spectrophotometry method. The determined values were analyzed by N-par test using SPSS software version 16.0. Results: Sodium benzoate level was near zero in the samples of canned pickles and pickled cucumbers from producing factories. This was 200-400 PPM in 7 samples from bulk cargo pickled cucumbers which was higher than permissible dose. There was not a statistically significant difference between mean benzoate level of canned pickles and pickled cucumbers produced in Markazi providence factories and other food factories. Benzoate level was significantly higher than permissible dose in bulk cargo pickled cucumbers. Conclusion: Food products from production factories do not have higher than permissible level of sodium benzoate; however, this is higher in bulk cargo pickled cucumbers. Hence, stricter control on bulk cargo pickled cucumber products is recommended.

Automatic first-break picking using the instantaneous traveltime attribute

KAUST Repository

Saragiotis, Christos

2012-01-01

Picking the first breaks is an important step in seismic processing. The large volume of the seismic data calls for automatic and objective picking. We introduce a new automatic first-break picker, which uses specifically designed time windows and an iterative procedure based on the instantaneous traveltime attribute. The method is fast as it only uses a few FFT\\'s per trace. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this automatic method by applying it on real test data.

Membrane Localization is Critical for Activation of the PICK1 BAR Domain

Science.gov (United States)

Madsen, Kenneth L.; Eriksen, Jacob; Milan-Lobo, Laura; Han, Daniel S.; Niv, Masha Y.; Ammendrup-Johnsen, Ina; Henriksen, Ulla; Bhatia, Vikram K.; Stamou, Dimitrios; Sitte, Harald H.; McMahon, Harvey T.; Weinstein, Harel; Gether, Ulrik

2013-01-01

The PSD-95/Discs-large/ZO-1 homology (PDZ) domain protein, protein interacting with C kinase 1 (PICK1) contains a C-terminal Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) domain mediating recognition of curved membranes; however, the molecular mechanisms controlling the activity of this domain are poorly understood. In agreement with negative regulation of the BAR domain by the N-terminal PDZ domain, PICK1 distributed evenly in the cytoplasm, whereas truncation of the PDZ domain caused BAR domain-dependent redistribution to clusters colocalizing with markers of recycling endosomal compartments. A similar clustering was observed both upon truncation of a short putative α-helical segment in the linker between the PDZ and the BAR domains and upon coexpression of PICK1 with a transmembrane PDZ ligand, including the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor GluR2 subunit, the GluR2 C-terminus transferred to the single transmembrane protein Tac or the dopamine transporter C-terminus transferred to Tac. In contrast, transfer of the GluR2 C-terminus to cyan fluorescent protein, a cytosolic protein, did not elicit BAR domain-dependent clustering. Instead, localizing PICK1 to the membrane by introducing an N-terminal myristoylation site produced BAR domain-dependent, but ligand-independent, PICK1 clustering. The data support that in the absence of PDZ ligand, the PICK1 BAR domain is inhibited through a PDZ domain-dependent and linker-dependent mechanism. Moreover, they suggest that unmasking of the BAR domain’s membrane-binding capacity is not a consequence of ligand binding to the PDZ domain per se but results from, and coincides with, recruitment of PICK1 to a membrane compartment. PMID:18466293

Rhythm Patterns Interaction - Synchronization Behavior for Human-Robot Joint Action

Science.gov (United States)

Mörtl, Alexander; Lorenz, Tamara; Hirche, Sandra

2014-01-01

Interactive behavior among humans is governed by the dynamics of movement synchronization in a variety of repetitive tasks. This requires the interaction partners to perform for example rhythmic limb swinging or even goal-directed arm movements. Inspired by that essential feature of human interaction, we present a novel concept and design methodology to synthesize goal-directed synchronization behavior for robotic agents in repetitive joint action tasks. The agents’ tasks are described by closed movement trajectories and interpreted as limit cycles, for which instantaneous phase variables are derived based on oscillator theory. Events segmenting the trajectories into multiple primitives are introduced as anchoring points for enhanced synchronization modes. Utilizing both continuous phases and discrete events in a unifying view, we design a continuous dynamical process synchronizing the derived modes. Inverse to the derivation of phases, we also address the generation of goal-directed movements from the behavioral dynamics. The developed concept is implemented to an anthropomorphic robot. For evaluation of the concept an experiment is designed and conducted in which the robot performs a prototypical pick-and-place task jointly with human partners. The effectiveness of the designed behavior is successfully evidenced by objective measures of phase and event synchronization. Feedback gathered from the participants of our exploratory study suggests a subjectively pleasant sense of interaction created by the interactive behavior. The results highlight potential applications of the synchronization concept both in motor coordination among robotic agents and in enhanced social interaction between humanoid agents and humans. PMID:24752212

Sphingoid bases from sea cucumber induce apoptosis in human hepatoma HepG2 cells through p-AKT and DR5.

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, Zakir; Sugawara, Tatsuya; Hirata, Takashi

2013-03-01

Biofunctional marine compounds have recently received substantial attention for their nutraceutical characteristics. In this study, we investigated the apoptosis-inducing effects of sphingoid bases prepared from sea cucumber using human hepatoma HepG2 cells. Apoptotic effects were determined by cell viability assay, DNA fragmentation assay, caspase-3 and caspase-8 activities. The expression levels of apoptosis-inducing death receptor-5 (DR5) and p-AKT were assayed by western blot analysis, and mRNA expression of bax, GADD45 and PPARγ was assayed by quantitative RT-PCR analysis. Sphingoid bases from sea cucumber markedly reduced the cell viability of HepG2 cells. DNA fragmentation indicative of apoptosis was observed in a dose-dependent manner. The expression levels of the apoptosis inducer protein Bax were increased by the sphingoid bases from sea cucumber. GADD45, which plays an important role in apoptosis-inducing pathways, was markedly upregulated by sphingoid bases from sea cucumber. Upregulation of PPARγ mRNA was also observed during apoptosis induced by the sphingoid bases. The expression levels of DR5 and p-AKT proteins were increased and decreased, respectively, as a result of the effects of sphingoid bases from sea cucumber. The results indicate that sphingoid bases from sea cucumber induce apoptosis in HepG2 cells through upregulation of DR5, Bax, GADD45 and PPARγ and downregulation of p-AKT. Our results show for the first time the functional properties of marine sphingoid bases as inducers of apoptosis in HepG2 cells.

[Effects of lime-ammonium bicarbonate fumigation and biofertilizer application on Fusarium wilt and biomass of continuous cropping cucumber and watermelon.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Zong Zhuan; Sun, Li; Wang, Dong Sheng; Lyu, Na Na; Xue, Chao; Li, Rong; Shen, Qi Rong

2017-10-01

In this study, the population size of soil microbes was determined using plate counting method after the application of lime-ammonium bicarbonate and ammonium bicarbonate fumigation. In addition, biofertilizer was applied after soil fumigation and population of Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium wilt disease control efficiency and plant biomass were determined in the cucumber and watermelon continuous cropping soil. The results showed that the population of F. oxysporum in cucumber mono-cropped soil fumigated with lime-ammonium bicarbonate or ammonium bicarbonate was decreased by 95.4% and 71.4%, while that in watermelon mono-cropped soil was decreased by 87.3% and 61.2%, respectively compared with non-fumigated control (CK). Furthermore, the greenhouse experiment showed that biofertilizer application, soil fumigation and crop type showed significant effects on the number of soil F. oxysporum, Fusarium wilt disease incidence, disease control efficiency and plant biomass based on multivariate analysis of variance. In the lime-ammonium bicarbonate fumigated soil amended with biofertilizer (LFB), significant reductions in the numbers of F. oxysporum and Fusarium wilt disease incidence were observed in both cucumber and watermelon cropped soil compared to non-fumigated control soil applied with organic fertilizer. The disease control rate was 91.9% and 92.5% for cucumber and watermelon, respectively. Moreover, LFB also significantly increased the plant height, stem diameter, leaf SPAD, and dry biomass for cucumber and watermelon. It was indicated that biofertilizer application after lime-ammonium bicarbonate fumigation could effectively reduce the abundance of F. oxysporum in soil, control Fusarium wilt disease and improve plant biomass in cucumber and watermelon mono-cropping systems.

Beneficial Effects of Rhodotorula sp. C11 on Growth and Disease Resistance of Juvenile Japanese Spiky Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, ZhiPing; Sun, JianMing; Xu, Zhe

2015-06-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary administration of the live yeast, Rhodotorula sp. C11, on growth and disease resistance against Vibrio splendidus infection in juvenile Japanese spiky sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Sea cucumbers were fed diets containing Rhodotorula sp. C11 at 0 (control), 10⁴, 10⁵, and 10⁶ CFU/g of feed for 45 d. There were three replicate tanks per dietary treatment. The specific growth rates were higher in all sea cucumbers treated with Rhodotorula sp. C11 than in the controls. Following a challenge with V. splendidus NB13, the cumulative prevalence and mortality of sea cucumbers fed diets supplemented with Rhodotorula sp. C11 were lower than in animals fed the basal diet. In sea cucumbers fed diets supplemented with Rhodotorula sp. C11 for 42 d, the only viable yeast found in the intestine was Rhodotorula sp. C11, which had counts of 1.58-1.98 × 10⁴CFU/g. No yeast was isolated from the intestine of animals fed the basal diet. For the colonization study, 20 sea cucumbers from each dietary treatment were removed to separate tanks and fed the control diet from day 16 to day 46. The viable yeast (Rhodotorula sp. C11) counts in the intestine decreased to 60-80 CFU/g by day 37. Moreover, as demonstrated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, Rhodotorula sp. C11 colonization of the intestine could be detected until day 46. The differences in culture and PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis may be due to differences in the sensitivity of both methods. The present result showed that Rhodotorula sp. C11 was able to successfully colonize the intestine of juvenile Japanese spiky sea cucumbers by dietary supplementation, which improved its growth and disease resistance.

Decreased TK activity alters growth, yield and tolerance to low temperature and low light intensity in transgenic cucumber plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Bi, Huangai; Dong, Xubing; Wu, Guoxiu; Wang, Meiling; Ai, Xizhen

2015-02-01

Four CsTK antisense transgenic cucumber plants were obtained. Decreased TK activity decreased the photosynthetic rate, seed germination rate, growth yield, and the tolerance to low temperature and weak light stress. Transketolase (TK, EC 2.2.1.1) is a key enzyme in the photosynthetic carbon reduction cycle (Calvin cycle). A cDNA fragment (526 bp) encoding transketolase was cloned from cucumber plants (Cucumis sativa L. cv 'Jinyou 3') by RT-PCR. The antisense expression [(PBI-CsTK(-)] vector containing the CsTK gene fragment was constructed. The resulting plasmid was introduced into the cucumber inbred lines '08-1' using the agrobacterium-mediated method, and four antisense transgenic cucumber plants were obtained. Decreased CsTK expression either unaltered or slightly increased the mRNA abundance and activities of the other main enzymes in the Calvin cycle, however, it decreased the TK activity and net photosynthetic rate (Pn) in antisense transgenic cucumber leaves. Antisense plants showed decreases in the growth, ratio of female flowers and yield compared with the wild-type (WT) plants. The decrease in Pn, stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (Tr), photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) and actual photochemical efficiency of PSII (ΦPSII) and the increase in electrolyte leakage (EL) were greater in antisense transgenic plants than in WT plants under low temperature (5 °C) and low light intensity (100 μmol m(-2) s(-1)).

The distribution and diversity of sea cucumbers in the coral reefs of the South China Sea, Sulu Sea and Sulawesi Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Woo, Sau Pinn; Yasin, Zulfigar; Ismail, Siti Hasmah; Tan, Shau Hwai

2013-11-01

A study on the distribution and diversity of sea cucumbers in the coral reefs of the South China Sea, Sulu Sea and Sulawesi Sea was carried out in July 2009. The survey was done using wandering transect underwater with SCUBA. Twelve species of sea cucumber were found from four different families and nine genera. The most dominant family was Holothuriidae (five species), followed by Stichopodidae (three species), Synaptidae (three species) and Cucumariidae with only one species. The most dominant species found around the island was Pearsonothuria graffei, which can be found abundantly on substrate of dead corals in a wide range of depth (6-15 m). The Sulawesi Sea showed a higher diversity of sea cucumber with seven different species compared to the South China Sea with only six different species and Sulu Sea with only two species. Ordination by multidimensional scaling of Bray-Curtis similarities clustered the sampling locations to three main clusters with two outgroups. Previous studies done indicated a higher diversity of sea cucumber as compared to this study. This can be indication that the population and diversity of sea cucumbers in the reef is under threat.

Effects of a Potential Autochthonous Probiotic Bacillus subtilis 2-1 on the Growth and Intestinal Microbiota of Juvenile Sea Cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus Selenka

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yancui; Yuan, Lei; Wan, Junli; Sun, Hushan; Wang, Yiyan; Zhang, Qin

2018-04-01

The effects of Bacillus subtilis 2-1 from the intestine of healthy sea cucumber on the growth, digestive enzyme activities and intestinal microbiota of juvenile sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus) were determined in the present study. Sea cucumber was fed with Sargassum thunbergii powder supplemented with B. subtilis 2-1 at different concentrations varying among 0 (control), 105, 107, and 109 CFU g-1 for 8 weeks. Results showed that the growth performance and intestinal amylase and trypsin activities were significantly increased by dietary B. subtilis 2-1 at 109 CFU g-1 ( P subtilis 2-1 had no significant influence on the lipase activity in sea cucumber ( P > 0.05). The polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis indicated that dietary B. subtilis 2-1 at 105 and 107 CFU g-1 inhibited most of the Proteobacteria including those in genus Vibrio. Dietary B. subtilis 2-1 at 109 CFU g-1 not only decreased the abundance and species of genus Vibrio, but also increased the intensity of genera Psychrobacter and Bacillus. A specific dosage of dietary B. subtilis 2-1 could increase the growth and modulate the intestinal microbiota of sea cucumber; thus it might be a novel probiotic for keeping the health of sea cucumber.

Novel Use of PIT Tags in Sea Cucumbers: Promising Results with the Commercial Species Cucumaria frondosa.

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Bruno L Gianasi

Full Text Available The lack of a reliable and innocuous mark-recapture method has limited studies that would provide essential information for the management of commercial sea cucumbers. Tagging sea cucumbers is notoriously difficult because of their plastic nature and autolysis capacities. The markers that have so far been tested, mainly on or through the body wall, were either lost rapidly or had major drawbacks (e.g. suitable only for batch identification, requiring complex analysis, causing infections, necrosis, behavioural changes and mortality. The present study explored the efficacy of passive integrated transponder (PIT tags for individually marking sea cucumbers by assessing retention rates and long-term side effects of tags inserted in previously unstudied tissues/organs. Individuals of the species Cucumaria frondosa were tagged in the body wall, aquapharyngeal bulb and at the base of the oral tentacles. They were monitored closely for evidence of stress, infection, change in feeding and spawning behaviour and tag retention rate. Implanting the tag in an oral tentacle to reach the hydrovascular system of the aquapharyngeal bulb achieved the best retention rates in full-size individuals: from a maximum of 92% after 30 days to 68% at the end of the experimental period (300 days. Efficacy was lower in smaller individuals (84% after 30 d and 42% after 300 d. Following a slight increase in cloacal movements for 15 h post tagging, no side effect was noted in sea cucumbers tagged in the aquapharyngeal bulb via the tentacles. Feeding and spawning behaviours were not affected and no signs of infections or abnormal cell development in the vicinity of the tags were observed. This study indicates that marking sea cucumbers with 8.2 mm long PIT tags implanted via the oral tentacle is an effective technique, yielding relatively high retention rates over long periods without any detectable physiological or behavioural effects.

Growth and morphological changes of cucumber cotyledons as influenced by fluorine exhalations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niznansky, A; Erdelska, O

1964-01-01

The biological effects of particulate air pollution which was rich in fluorine compounds was studied. Cucumber cotyledons were used as experimental organisms, and the types of injuries they received were categorized.

Interplanetary Trajectory Design for the Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission Alternate Approach Trade Study

Science.gov (United States)

Merrill, Raymond Gabriel; Qu, Min; Vavrina, Matthew A.; Englander, Jacob A.; Jones, Christopher A.

2014-01-01

This paper presents mission performance analysis methods and results for the Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission (ARRM) option to capture a free standing boulder on the surface of a 100 m or larger NEA. It details the optimization and design of heliocentric low-thrust trajectories to asteroid targets for the ARRM solar electric propulsion spacecraft. Extensive searches were conducted to determine asteroid targets with large pick-up mass potential and potential observation opportunities. Interplanetary trajectory approximations were developed in method based tools for Itokawa, Bennu, 1999 JU3, and 2008 EV5 and were validated by end-to-end integrated trajectories.

[Effects of Ca2+ on nitric oxide-induced adventitious rooting in cucumber under drought stress].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chun Lan; Niu, Li Juan; Hu, Lin Li; Liao, Wei Biao; Chen, Yue

2017-11-01

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. 'Xinchun 4') was used to explore the relationship between nitric oxide (NO) and calcium (Ca 2+ ) during adventitious rooting under drought stress. Rooting parameters, endogenous Ca 2+ fluorescent intensity and the antioxidant enzymes activity (SOD, CAT and APX) in cucumber explants under drought stress were investigated. The results showed that treatment with 200 μmol·L -1 CaCl 2 and 0.05% PEG significantly improved the number and length of adventitious root in cucumber explants under drought stress, while the application of Ca 2+ chelating agent (EGTA) and channel inhibitor (BAPTA/AM) significantly decreased NO-induced number and length of adventitious root under drought stress. Under drought stress, the fluorescence intensity of Ca 2+ in hypocotyls treated with NO and CaCl 2 was improved, however, the Ca 2+ fluorescence intensity in the hypocotyls treated with NO scavenger (cPTIO) was significantly lower than that in the hypocotyls treated with NO. Under drought stress, the activities of antioxidant enzymes in the cucumber explants were significantly promoted by the treatments with NO and CaCl 2 , however, Ca 2+ chelating agent and channel inhibitor significantly decreased the activity of antioxidant enzymes induced by NO. In conclusion, Ca 2+ might be involved in the process of NO-adjusted antioxidant enzymes activity during adventitious rooting under drought stress, which alleviated the negative effects of drought on the adventitious rooting and promoted the formation of adventitious roots.

How 'ground-picked' olive fruits affect virgin olive oil ethanol content, ethyl esters and quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Beltran, Gabriel; Sánchez, Raquel; Sánchez-Ortiz, Araceli; Aguilera, Maria P; Bejaoui, Mohamed A; Jimenez, Antonio

2016-08-01

Olives dropped on the ground naturally sometimes are not separated from those fresh and healthy collected from the tree for harvest and processing. In this work we compared the quality, ethanol content and bioactive components of virgin olive oils from ground-picked olives, tree-picked fruits and their mixture. Ground-picked olives produced 'Lampante' virgin olive oils; these are of a lower quality category, because of important alterations in chemical and sensory characteristics. Ethyl esters showed the highest values, although under the regulated limit. The mixture of ground and tree-picked olives gave oils classified as 'virgin' because of sensory defects, although the quality parameters did not exceed the limits for the 'extra' category. Ethanol content showed a significant increase in the oils from ground- picked olives and their mixture with respect to those from tree-picked fruits. Furthermore, bioactive compounds showed a significant decrease as fruit quality was poorer. Ground-picked olives must be harvested and processed separately since they produce low-quality virgin olive oils with sensory defects and lower concentrations of bioactive compounds. The higher acidity and ethanol concentration observed in oils from ground-picked fruits or their mixture may help ethyl ester synthesis during storage. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

The correlation between cherry picking and the distance that consumers travel to do grocery shopping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louise Van Scheers

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Retailers often use price promotions to discriminate between consumers who can shift purchases over time and those who cannot. Retailers consistently tend to charge lower prices than necessary, pricing defensively to prevent loyal customers from cherry picking, or shifting to competitors. Knowledge about cherry picking behaviour will enable retailers to obtain a higher share of disposable income from even price-sensitive shoppers, while at the same time charging higher prices. Recent studies indicate that effective cherry picking entails saving costs through price searching over time, price searching across stores, or both. This study examines the relationship between cherry picking and the distance that consumers travel to do grocery shopping. Interviews were conducted at ten different retail outlets over three days, and the results show that there is a highly significant correlation between cherry picking and the distance that consumers travel to do grocery shopping.These results should help retailers to benefit from cherry picking by taking a proactive approach to store switching and store location, two of the main influences on cherry picking behaviour.

The Effect of Different Cucurbit Rootstocks on Some Morphological and Physiological Traits of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. Super Dominus

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reihane Mesgari

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Cucumber is one of the most important vegetable crops for the local consumption and exportation. The use of grafted vegetable seedlings has been popular in many countries during recent years. Growing fruit-bearing vegetables, chiefly tomato, cucumber and watermelon through grafted seedlings become a widespread practice worldwide. Grafting is a valuable technique to avoid soil-borne diseases, provide biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, enhance nutrient uptake, optimize water use, and increase fruit yield and quality. Vegetable grafting is a new topic in Iran and there are a limited number of studies on grafted vegetable production. However, attention to grafting by researchers has recently increased. Suitable rootstocks should be identified and characterized for the effective utilization of grafting. The rootstock's vigorous root system increases the efficiency of water and nutrient absorption, and may also serve as a source of endogenous plant hormones, thus leading to increased growth and yield in addition to disease control. In the present study, we investigated the response of two Cucurbita sp. and an Iranian melon as rootstocks for cucumber. Materials and methods: In order to study the effect of cucurbit rootstocks and grafting method on growth, yield and fruit quality of cucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. Super Dominus, an experiment was conducted as a factorial design in the base of RCBD with three replications in the greenhouse and research farm, University of Zanjan. Treatments were included three rootstocks (Cucurbita moschata L., Lagenaria siceraria and Cucumis melo L. and ungrafted plants (control and two grafting method (hole insertion and splice grafting. Seeds were sown simultaneously in plastic pots. For obtaining the same stem diameter of scion and rootstocks, cucumber seeds were planted four days earlier than rootstocks seeds. The seedlings were grown in an environment-controlled greenhouse with 25/20 day

The class characteristic mark of the H&M Mul-T-Lock picking tool in toolmarks examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Volkov, Nikolai; Finkelstein, Nir; Novoselsky, Yehuda; Tsach, Tsadok

2014-07-01

Mul-T-Lock is a high security lock cylinder distinguished by the use of a telescoping "pin-in-pin"-tumbler design. Picking the Mul-T-Lock cylinder with a traditional picking tool is highly complicated because it can get stuck between the inner and outer pins. The H&M Mul-T-Lock picking tool was designed to overcome this problem and facilitate the picking of the "pin-in-pin" cylinder. The purpose of this research is to determine whether H&M Mul-T-Lock picking tool leaves class characteristic mark and whether it can be distinguished from traditional picking tools marks and from regular key marks. It also describes and determines the class characteristic mark left on telescopic pins, its origin, recurrence, and its benefit to the toolmarks examiner. When receiving a Mul-T-Lock from a crime scene, a toolmarks examiner can quickly determine whether or not it was picked by an H&M Mul-T-Lock picking tool by noticing the class characteristic mark which this typical tool leaves. © 2014 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Development and application of underwater robot vehicle for close inspection of spent fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yun, J. S.; Park, B. S.; Song, T. G.; Kim, S. H.; Cho, M. W.; Ahn, S. H.; Lee, J. Y.; Oh, S. C.; Oh, W. J.; Shin, K. W.; Woo, D. H.; Kim, H. G.; Park, J. S

1999-12-01

The research and development efforts of the underwater robotic vehicle for inspection of spent fuels are focused on the development of an robotic vehicle which inspects spent fuels in the storage pool through remotely controlled actuation. For this purpose, a self balanced vehicle actuated by propellers is designed and fabricated, which consists of a radiation resistance camera, two illuminators, a pressure transducer and a manipulator. the algorithm for autonomous navigation is developed and its performance is tested at the swimming pool. The results of the underwater vehicle shows that the vehicle can easily navigate into the arbitrary directions while maintaining its balanced position. The camera provides a clear view of working environment by using the macro and zoom functions. The camera tilt device provides a wide field of view which is enough for monitoring the operation of manipulator. Also, the manipulator can pick up the dropped objects up to 4 kgf of weight. (author)

Pathological skin picking: case presentation and review of the literature

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Maria Isabela Sarbu

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Pathological skin picking is a condition in which patients induce skin lesions through repetitive, compulsive excoriations of normal skin or skin with minor surface irregularities and they admit their role in the production of the lesions, but are unable to stop their behavior. Psychiatric comorbidities most often associated with skin picking include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, body dysmorphic disorders, trichotillomania and compulsive-buying disorder. We report the case of a 17 year old female patient who addressed the dermatology department of our hospital with an eruption consisting of erythematous papules and plaques. The local examination revealed several clues of paramount importance in drawing the final conclusion and the psychiatric examination helped establish the diagnosis of pathological skin picking in a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Laws on Robots, Laws by Robots, Laws in Robots : Regulating Robot Behaviour by Design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leenes, R.E.; Lucivero, F.

2015-01-01

Speculation about robot morality is almost as old as the concept of a robot itself. Asimov’s three laws of robotics provide an early and well-discussed example of moral rules robots should observe. Despite the widespread influence of the three laws of robotics and their role in shaping visions of

Heterorhabditis sp. (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae): A Nematode Parasite Isolated from the Banded Cucumber Beetle Diabrotica balteata

Science.gov (United States)

Creighton, C. S.; Fassuliotis, G.

1985-01-01

A nematode identified as Heterorhabditis sp. was discovered in June 1982 in larval cadavers of the banded cucumber beetle, Diabrotica balteata, in soil on wooded land. Effective beetle control (over 95%) was obtained when larvae were exposed to potted soil containing infective stage nematode juveniles or infected larval cadavers. The nematode was propagated in vivo on larvae of D. balteata, Diaphania nitidalis (the pickleworm), and Galleria mellonella (the greater wax moth). This Heterorhabditis sp. has promising potential as a biocontrol agent for the banded cucumber beetle. PMID:19294074

Automated Peak Picking and Peak Integration in Macromolecular NMR Spectra Using AUTOPSY

Science.gov (United States)

Koradi, Reto; Billeter, Martin; Engeli, Max; Güntert, Peter; Wüthrich, Kurt

1998-12-01

A new approach for automated peak picking of multidimensional protein NMR spectra with strong overlap is introduced, which makes use of the program AUTOPSY (automatedpeak picking for NMRspectroscopy). The main elements of this program are a novel function for local noise level calculation, the use of symmetry considerations, and the use of lineshapes extracted from well-separated peaks for resolving groups of strongly overlapping peaks. The algorithm generates peak lists with precise chemical shift and integral intensities, and a reliability measure for the recognition of each peak. The results of automated peak picking of NOESY spectra with AUTOPSY were tested in combination with the combined automated NOESY cross peak assignment and structure calculation routine NOAH implemented in the program DYANA. The quality of the resulting structures was found to be comparable with those from corresponding data obtained with manual peak picking.

Dietary supplementation of biofloc influences growth performance, physiological stress, antioxidant status and immune response of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka).

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jinghua; Ren, Yichao; Wang, Guodong; Xia, Bin; Li, Yuquan

2018-01-01

Bioflocs are rich in various probiotics and bioactive compounds, which play an important role in improving growth and health status of aquatic organisms. A 60-day experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of biofloc on growth performance, digestive enzyme activity, physiological stress, antioxidant status, expression of immune-related genes and disease resistance of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Juvenile sea cucumbers were fed five experimental diets containing graded levels of biofloc from 0% to 20% (referred as B0, B5, B10, B15 and B20, respectively). The results showed that the sea cucumbers at dietary supplementation levels of 10%-15% biofloc had significantly higher specific growth rate (SGR) compared to control group (diet B0). Digestive enzyme activity increased with the increasing of dietary biofloc level, while no significant difference was found between diets B15 and B20. Dietary supplementation of biofloc also had significant influences on physiological stress parameters except for lactate. There was no significant discrepancy in total coelomocytes counts (TCC) in coelomic fluid of sea cucumber between the treatments. Phagocytosis and respiratory burst of cellular immune at 15% and 20% biofloc levels were significantly higher than those of control group. Significant increases in superoxide dismutase (SOD), total nitric oxide synthase (T-NOS), lysozyme (LSZ), acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activities of sea cucumber were found at highest dietary supplementation level of 20% biofloc. The expression patterns of immune-related genes (i.e., Hsp90, Hsp70, p105, Rel, NOS and LSZ) in tissues of sea cucumber were analyzed between the experimental diets, and a general trend of up-regulation was observed at higher biofloc levels. Furthermore, dietary 10%-20% biofloc significantly reduced cumulative mortality of sea cucumber after being challenged with Vibrio splendidus. In conclusion, dietary

A 1,681-locus consensus genetic map of cultivated cucumber including 67 NB-LRR resistance gene homolog and ten gene loci.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Luming; Li, Dawei; Li, Yuhong; Gu, Xingfang; Huang, Sanwen; Garcia-Mas, Jordi; Weng, Yiqun

2013-03-25

Cucumber is an important vegetable crop that is susceptible to many pathogens, but no disease resistance (R) genes have been cloned. The availability of whole genome sequences provides an excellent opportunity for systematic identification and characterization of the nucleotide binding and leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) type R gene homolog (RGH) sequences in the genome. Cucumber has a very narrow genetic base making it difficult to construct high-density genetic maps. Development of a consensus map by synthesizing information from multiple segregating populations is a method of choice to increase marker density. As such, the objectives of the present study were to identify and characterize NB-LRR type RGHs, and to develop a high-density, integrated cucumber genetic-physical map anchored with RGH loci. From the Gy14 draft genome, 70 NB-containing RGHs were identified and characterized. Most RGHs were in clusters with uneven distribution across seven chromosomes. In silico analysis indicated that all 70 RGHs had EST support for gene expression. Phylogenetic analysis classified 58 RGHs into two clades: CNL and TNL. Comparative analysis revealed high-degree sequence homology and synteny in chromosomal locations of these RGH members between the cucumber and melon genomes. Fifty-four molecular markers were developed to delimit 67 of the 70 RGHs, which were integrated into a genetic map through linkage analysis. A 1,681-locus cucumber consensus map including 10 gene loci and spanning 730.0 cM in seven linkage groups was developed by integrating three component maps with a bin-mapping strategy. Physically, 308 scaffolds with 193.2 Mbp total DNA sequences were anchored onto this consensus map that covered 52.6% of the 367 Mbp cucumber genome. Cucumber contains relatively few NB-LRR RGHs that are clustered and unevenly distributed in the genome. All RGHs seem to be transcribed and shared significant sequence homology and synteny with the melon genome suggesting conservation of

A transposable element insertion in the susceptibility gene CsaMLO8 results in hypocotyl resistance to powdery mildew in cucumber

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berg, J.A.; Appiano, M.; Santillán Martínez, M.I.; Hemans, F.W.K.; Vriezen, W.H.; Visser, R.G.F.; Bai, Y.; Schouten, H.J.

2015-01-01

Background - Powdery mildew (PM) is an important disease of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). CsaMLO8 was previously identified as a candidate susceptibility gene for PM in cucumber, for two reasons: 1) This gene clusters phylogenetically in clade V, which has previously been shown to harbour all known

Comparative proteomic analysis reveals the positive effect of exogenous spermidine on photosynthesis and salinity tolerance in cucumber seedlings.

Science.gov (United States)

Sang, Ting; Shan, Xi; Li, Bin; Shu, Sheng; Sun, Jin; Guo, Shirong

2016-08-01

Our results based on proteomics data and physiological alterations proposed the putative mechanism of exogenous Spd enhanced salinity tolerance in cucumber seedlings. Current studies showed that exogenous spermidine (Spd) could alleviate harmful effects of salinity. It is important to increase our understanding of the beneficial physiological responses of exogenous Spd treatment, and to determine the molecular responses underlying these responses. Here, we combined a physiological analysis with iTRAQ-based comparative proteomics of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) leaves, treated with 0.1 mM exogenous Spd, 75 mM NaCl and/or exogenous Spd. A total of 221 differentially expressed proteins were found and involved in 30 metabolic pathways, such as photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, stress response, signal transduction and antioxidant. Based on functional classification of the differentially expressed proteins and the physiological responses, we found cucumber seedlings treated with Spd under salt stress had higher photosynthesis efficiency, upregulated tetrapyrrole synthesis, stronger ROS scavenging ability and more protein biosynthesis activity than NaCl treatment, suggesting that these pathways may promote salt tolerance under high salinity. This study provided insights into how exogenous Spd protects photosynthesis and enhances salt tolerance in cucumber seedlings.

Molecular cloning and characterization of violaxanthin de-epoxidase (CsVDE in cucumber.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Li

Full Text Available Violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE plays an important role in protecting the photosynthetic apparatus from photo-damage by dissipating excessively absorbed light energy as heat, via the conversion of violaxanthin (V to intermediate product antheraxanthin (A and final product zeaxanthin (Z under high light stress. We have cloned a violaxanthin de-epoxidase gene (CsVDE from cucumber. The amino acid sequence of CsVDE has high homology with VDEs in other plants. RT-PCR analysis and histochemical staining show that CsVDE is expressed in all green tissues in cucumber and Arabidopsis. Using GFP fusion protein and immunogold labeling methods, we show that CsVDE is mainly localized in chloroplasts in cucumber. Under high light stress, relative expression of CsVDE and the de-epoxidation ratio (A+Z/(V+A+Z is increased rapidly, and abundance of the gold particles was also increased. Furthermore, CsVDE is quickly induced by cold and drought stress, reaching maximum levels at the 2(nd hour and the 9(th day, respectively. The ratio of (A+Z/(V+A+Z and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ is reduced in transgenic Arabidopsis down-regulated by the antisense fragment of CsVDE, compared to wild type (WT Arabidopsis under high light stress. This indicates decreased functionality of the xanthophyll cycle and increased sensitivity to photoinhibition of photosystem II (PSII in transgenic Arabidopsis under high light stress.

Neiella marinum gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from sea cucumber

Science.gov (United States)

A novel strain, designated J221**T, was isolated from the intestine of a sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, collected from earthen ponds in Qingdao, China. The strain is Gram-negative, oxidase-positive, aerobic, and rod-shaped cell. Growth of strain J221T was observed at temperatures between 10...

Echinoside-B from the Lakshadweep sea cucumber Actinopyga mauritiana (Quoy and Gaimard)

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Parameswaran, P.S.; Naik, C.G.; Das, B.; Kamat, S.Y.

Brine-shrimp assay guided purification of the methanolic extract of the sea cucumber Actinopyga mauritiana yields echinoside-B as a major toxic constituent. The compound has been characterized based on its spectral data....

Haloperidol augmentation of fluvoxamine in skin picking disorder: a case report

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Luca Maria

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Compulsive skin picking, being part of the broader category of impulse control disorders, is considered a residual diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. It is characterized by excessive scratching or picking of normal skin, or skin with minor surface irregularities, and occurs in 2% of patients attending dermatology clinics. Despite the clinical relevance of this disorder, no clear guidelines are available yet; clinical management is, therefore, compromised and the day-to-day clinical practice is burdened by difficulties. Studies on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and anti-epileptic drugs have provided limited results. The association between anti-depressants and anti-epileptics has been found to be beneficial in some impulse control disorders, but in skin picking no previous studies have been conducted on this pharmacological approach. There are very few reports on the efficacy of anti-psychotics in skin picking. Case presentation The therapeutic path described in this case report produced good results for a 59-year-old Caucasian woman. The first therapeutic approach, with fluvoxamine and oxcarbazepine was partially effective; then, the suspension of oxcarbazepine and haloperidol augmentation of fluvoxamine were adopted. After 10 weeks, a significant improvement of the disease was observed: the clinical picture and the associated symptoms were nearly solved. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first article reporting the association of fluvoxamine and haloperidol in skin picking disorder. It might be useful to perform further research regarding the treatment of skin picking disorder: in clinical practice, several variables might limit the choice of certain drugs. Therefore, it would be useful for the clinician to be aware of other therapeutic options.

Audio-visual feedback improves the BCI performance in the navigational control of a humanoid robot

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Emmanuele eTidoni

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Advancement in brain computer interfaces (BCI technology allows people to actively interact in the world through surrogates. Controlling real humanoid robots using BCI as intuitively as we control our body represents a challenge for current research in robotics and neuroscience. In order to successfully interact with the environment the brain integrates multiple sensory cues to form a coherent representation of the world. Cognitive neuroscience studies demonstrate that multisensory integration may imply a gain with respect to a single modality and ultimately improve the overall sensorimotor performance. For example, reactivity to simultaneous visual and auditory stimuli may be higher than to the sum of the same stimuli delivered in isolation or in temporal sequence. Yet, knowledge about whether audio-visual integration may improve the control of a surrogate is meager. To explore this issue, we provided human footstep sounds as audio feedback to BCI users while controlling a humanoid robot. Participants were asked to steer their robot surrogate and perform a pick-and-place task through BCI-SSVEPs. We found that audio-visual synchrony between footsteps sound and actual humanoid’s walk reduces the time required for steering the robot. Thus, auditory feedback congruent with the humanoid actions may improve motor decisions of the BCI’s user and help in the feeling of control over it. Our results shed light on the possibility to increase robot’s control through the combination of multisensory feedback to a BCI user.

21 CFR 872.6650 - Massaging pick or tip for oral hygiene.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Massaging pick or tip for oral hygiene. 872.6650 Section 872.6650 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... hygiene. (a) Identification. A massaging pick or tip for oral hygiene is a rigid, pointed device intended...

[Effect of light intensity on the growth and digestive enzyme activity of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas under two kinds of culture methods].

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Zi-Zhong; Zhao, Wen

2014-01-01

The effects of light intensity (0, 1000, 2000 and 3000 1x) on the growth and digestive enzyme activity of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus under two kinds of culture methods (compound Chinese medicine preparation and microbial preparation) were studied. Results showed that the relative mass gain rate (WGR) and the specific growth rate (SGR) of juvenile sea cucumber were significantly affected by light intensity (P sea cucumber under different light intensities were 2000 1x > 1000 1x > 3000 1x > 0 1x. Under the same light intensity, the growth of juvenile sea cucumber under the two kinds of culture methods were significantly different (P sea cucumber. The order of amylase and lipase activity was 2000 1x > 1000 1x > 3000 1x > 0 1x, while that of protease activity was 1000 1x > 2000 1x > 0 1x > 3000 1x. Under the same light intensity, the digestive enzyme activities of the Chinese medicine treatment were generally higher than those of the microbial treatment.

Production, optimisation and characterisation of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory peptides from sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) gonad.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Chan; Sun, Le-Chang; Yan, Long-Jie; Lin, Yi-Chen; Liu, Guang-Ming; Cao, Min-Jie

2018-01-24

In this study, production of bioactive peptides with angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity from sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) gonad using commercial protamex was optimised by response surface methodology (RSM). As a result, the optimal condition to achieve the highest ACE inhibitory activity in sea cucumber gonad hydrolysate (SCGH) was hydrolysis for 1.95 h and E/S of 0.75%. For further characterisation, three individual peptides (EIYR, LF and NAPHMR) were purified and identified. The peptide NAPHMR showed the highest ACE inhibitory activity with IC 50 of 260.22 ± 3.71 μM. NAPHMR was stable against simulated gastrointestinal digestion and revealed no significant cytotoxicity toward Caco-2 cells. Molecular docking study suggested that Arg, His and Asn residues in NAPHMR interact with the S2 pocket or Zn 2+ binding motifs of ACE via hydrogen or π-bonds, potentially contributing to ACE inhibitory effect. Sea cucumber gonad is thus a potential resource to produce ACE inhibitory peptides for preparation of functional foods.

Reassessment of the succession of lactic acid bacteria in commercial cucumber fermentations and physiological and genomic features associated with their dominance

Science.gov (United States)

Current cucumber pickling practices differ significantly from those in the 1940s, when most of the microbiological studies of cucumber fermentations were completed, using culture dependent and biochemical testing. It is the objective of this study to conduct a compositional re-assessment of the micr...

Biological control of Pythium aphanidermatum in cucumber with a combined application of Lysobacter enzymogenes strain 3.1T8 and chitosan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Postma, J.; Stevens, L.H.; Wiegers, G.L.; Davelaar, E.; Nijhuis, E.H.

2009-01-01

Pythium aphanidermatum (Edson) Fitzp., causing root and crown rot in cucumber, was successfully managed by Lysobacter enzymogenes strain 3.1T8. Greenhouse experiments were performed with cucumber plants grown in rockwool blocks up to 5 weeks with a recirculated nutrient solution. Application of L.

Impact of Methyl Jasmonate on Enhancing Chilling Tolerance of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. Seedlings

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F. Saydpour

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Cucumber is a warm season crop that suffers from chilling injury at temperatures below 10°C. In recent years, jasmonates have been used for reduction of chilling injuries in plants. An experiment was, therefore, conducted to test whether methyl jasmonate (MeJA application at various concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15 mM through seed soaking or foliar spray would protect cucumber seedlings, subjected to chilling stress. Results showed that MeJA application decreased chilling index, ion leakage, malondialdehyde content and hydrogen peroxide free radical and increased growth parameters, proline contents, chlorophylls contents and antioxidant activity. Although, seed soaking method provided better protection compared to foliar spray method, the highest cold tolerance was obtained with 0.15mM MeJA application in both application methods that caused low level of chilling index (1.67, malondialdehyde content (0.11 nm g-1 FW, hydrogen peroxide free radical (0.22 nm g-1 FW and ion leakage (32.87%. In general, it may be concluded that MeJA could be used effectively to protect cucumber seedling from damaging effects of chilling stress at the early stages of growth.

TERMS OF CULTIVATION FOR BEE-POLLINATED CUCUMBER KARAMBOL F1 IN WINTER GLASS GREENHOUSES

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V. G. Korol

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The group of bee-pollinated hybrids of cucumber is one of the most demanded for growing in greenhouses in winterspring period. There are ‘Atlet F1’ ‘Karambol F1’ ‘Magnit F1’ ‘Kartel  F1’  and  also  hybrids  pollinators  ‘Kazanova  F1’, ‘Begunok  F1’  ‘Bodriyachok  F1’,  which  occupy  about  800 hectares of  area in  winter  greenhouses. All  hybrids  have attractive appearance, high taste qualities, and are transportable. Buttons are in a great demand and have a high price during  all  the  time  of  cultivation,  from  February to  July. However, the bee-pollinated  cucumbers in later period are also in need, particularly for end of year celebrations. The possibility  to  grow  these  bee  pollinated  cucumbers  like ‘Karambol F1’ in these terms of cultivation is regarded in the article.

Cultural Robotics: The Culture of Robotics and Robotics in Culture

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Hooman Samani

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we have investigated the concept of “Cultural Robotics” with regard to the evolution of social into cultural robots in the 21st Century. By defining the concept of culture, the potential development of a culture between humans and robots is explored. Based on the cultural values of the robotics developers, and the learning ability of current robots, cultural attributes in this regard are in the process of being formed, which would define the new concept of cultural robotics. According to the importance of the embodiment of robots in the sense of presence, the influence of robots in communication culture is anticipated. The sustainability of robotics culture based on diversity for cultural communities for various acceptance modalities is explored in order to anticipate the creation of different attributes of culture between robots and humans in the future.

Automatic Grasp Generation and Improvement for Industrial Bin-Picking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kraft, Dirk; Ellekilde, Lars-Peter; Rytz, Jimmy Alison

2014-01-01

and achieve comparable results and that our learning approach can improve system performance significantly. Automatic bin-picking is an important industrial process that can lead to significant savings and potentially keep production in countries with high labour cost rather than outsourcing it. The presented......This paper presents work on automatic grasp generation and grasp learning for reducing the manual setup time and increase grasp success rates within bin-picking applications. We propose an approach that is able to generate good grasps automatically using a dynamic grasp simulator, a newly developed...

Grasp Densities for Grasp Refinement in Industrial Bin Picking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hupfauf, Benedikt; Hahn, Heiko; Bodenhagen, Leon

in terms of object-relative gripper pose, can be learned from empirical experience, and allow the automatic choice of optimal grasps in a given scene context (object pose, workspace constraints, etc.). We will show grasp densities extracted from empirical data in a real industrial bin picking context...... generated in industrial bin-picking for grasp learning. This aim is achieved by using the novel concept of grasp densities (Detry et al., 2010). Grasp densities can describe the full variety of grasps that apply to specific objects using specific grippers. They represent the likelihood of grasp success...

Friendly network robotics; Friendly network robotics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

This paper summarizes the research results on the friendly network robotics in fiscal 1996. This research assumes an android robot as an ultimate robot and the future robot system utilizing computer network technology. The robot aiming at human daily work activities in factories or under extreme environments is required to work under usual human work environments. The human robot with similar size, shape and functions to human being is desirable. Such robot having a head with two eyes, two ears and mouth can hold a conversation with human being, can walk with two legs by autonomous adaptive control, and has a behavior intelligence. Remote operation of such robot is also possible through high-speed computer network. As a key technology to use this robot under coexistence with human being, establishment of human coexistent robotics was studied. As network based robotics, use of robots connected with computer networks was also studied. In addition, the R-cube (R{sup 3}) plan (realtime remote control robot technology) was proposed. 82 refs., 86 figs., 12 tabs.

Anticancer Activity from Active Fraction of Sea Cucumber

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Nurul Mutia Putram

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Sea Cucumber Holothuria atra is one of marine organisms has been used as a new source of novel bioactive compounds. Many of them have been used as the lead compounds in discovery of new anticancer drugs. The objective of this study was to determine the active fractions of sea cucumber (H. atra which have anticancer activity. H. atra was macerated using ethanol and the extract was freezedried using a freeze dryer. The crude extract was partitioned using n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol-water (3:1:1:1. Cytotoxicity test was performed using HeLa (cervic cancer cell line and MCF-7 (breast cancer cell line based on the MTT assay. The crude extract of H. atra showed the best cytotoxic activity against HeLa cells (IC50 = 12.48 µg/mL and MCF-7 cells (IC50 = 17.90 µg/mL. The toxicity tests showed the IC50 value of the n-hexane fraction, ethyl acetate fraction, and methanol-water fraction against HeLa cells HeLa (IC50 = 76.45 µg/mL; 77.95 µg/mL;  14.27 µg/mL and MCF-7 cells (IC50 = 58.50 µg/mL; 59.59 µg/mL; 14.33 µg/mL.

First Report of Cucumber mosaic virus Isolated from Sambungai (Gynura procumbens

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June Kwon

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In March 2016, an isolate of Cucumber mosaic virus (named Gyp-CMV was isolated from the Sambungai (Gynura procumbens showing the symptoms of mosaic and chlorosis. The isolate Gyp-CMV was characterized by disease reactions in several indicator plants, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and sequence analysis of movement protein (3a and coat protein (CP genes. Tobacco, tomato, pepper, ground cherry, and lambsquarters (Chenopodium quinoa and C. amaranticolor appeared typical CMV symptoms, but zucchini and cucumber were not infected. Phylogenetic analysis of the 3a and CP gene indicated that Gyp-CMV belongs to the CMV subgroup II. Sequence identities of the Gyp-CMV 3a and CP genes showed 99.3% and 100% to that of Hnt-CMV at amino acid level. To our knowledge, this is the first report of CMV infection in Gynura procumbens.

PICK1 deficiency impairs secretory vesicle biogenesis and leads to growth retardation and decreased glucose tolerance.

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Birgitte Holst

Full Text Available Secretory vesicles in endocrine cells store hormones such as growth hormone (GH and insulin before their release into the bloodstream. The molecular mechanisms governing budding of immature secretory vesicles from the trans-Golgi network (TGN and their subsequent maturation remain unclear. Here, we identify the lipid binding BAR (Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs domain protein PICK1 (protein interacting with C kinase 1 as a key component early in the biogenesis of secretory vesicles in GH-producing cells. Both PICK1-deficient Drosophila and mice displayed somatic growth retardation. Growth retardation was rescued in flies by reintroducing PICK1 in neurosecretory cells producing somatotropic peptides. PICK1-deficient mice were characterized by decreased body weight and length, increased fat accumulation, impaired GH secretion, and decreased storage of GH in the pituitary. Decreased GH storage was supported by electron microscopy showing prominent reduction in secretory vesicle number. Evidence was also obtained for impaired insulin secretion associated with decreased glucose tolerance. PICK1 localized in cells to immature secretory vesicles, and the PICK1 BAR domain was shown by live imaging to associate with vesicles budding from the TGN and to possess membrane-sculpting properties in vitro. In mouse pituitary, PICK1 co-localized with the BAR domain protein ICA69, and PICK1 deficiency abolished ICA69 protein expression. In the Drosophila brain, PICK1 and ICA69 co-immunoprecipitated and showed mutually dependent expression. Finally, both in a Drosophila model of type 2 diabetes and in high-fat-diet-induced obese mice, we observed up-regulation of PICK1 mRNA expression. Our findings suggest that PICK1, together with ICA69, is critical during budding of immature secretory vesicles from the TGN and thus for vesicular storage of GH and possibly other hormones. The data link two BAR domain proteins to membrane remodeling processes in the secretory pathway of

Robot vision for nuclear advanced robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakayama, Ryoichi; Okano, Hideharu; Kuno, Yoshinori; Miyazawa, Tatsuo; Shimada, Hideo; Okada, Satoshi; Kawamura, Astuo

1991-01-01

This paper describes Robot Vision and Operation System for Nuclear Advanced Robot. This Robot Vision consists of robot position detection, obstacle detection and object recognition. With these vision techniques, a mobile robot can make a path and move autonomously along the planned path. The authors implemented the above robot vision system on the 'Advanced Robot for Nuclear Power Plant' and tested in an environment mocked up as nuclear power plant facilities. Since the operation system for this robot consists of operator's console and a large stereo monitor, this system can be easily operated by one person. Experimental tests were made using the Advanced Robot (nuclear robot). Results indicate that the proposed operation system is very useful, and can be operate by only person. (author)

Enhanced production of parthenocarpic cucumbers pollinated with stingless bees and Africanized honey bees in greenhouses

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Euclides Braga Malheiros

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Crops have different levels of dependence on pollinators; this holds true even for cultivars of the same species, as in the case of cucumber (Cucumis sativus. The aim of this research was to assess the attractiveness of flowers of three Japanese parthenocarpic cucumber cultivars and evaluate the importance of Africanized bees (Apis mellifera, and the Brazilian native stingless bees, Jataí (Tetragonisca angustula and Iraí (Nannotrigona testaceicornis on fruit production. Several parameters, including frequency of bee visits to flowers as well as duration of nectar collection and fruit set were examined; additionally, fruit weight, length and diameter were evaluated. Three greenhouses located in Ribeirão Preto, SP, were used for planting three cucumber cultivars (Hokushin, Yoshinari and Soudai. The female flowers were more attractive than male flowers; however, Jataí bees were not observed visiting the flowers. The Africanized and the Iraí bees collected only nectar, with a visitation peak between 10 and 12h. Visits to female flowers had a longer duration than visits to male flower visits in all three cultivars. Africanized bee colonies declined due to loss of bees while in the greenhouse; the native stingless bee colonies did not suffer these losses. When bees were excluded, fruit set was 78%; however, when bees had access to the flowers, fruit set was significantly (19.2% higher. Fruit size and weight did not differ with and without bees. This demonstrates that even in parthenocarpic cucumber cultivars, which do not require pollination in order to from fruits, fruit production is significantly increased by bee pollination.

Transcriptome Analyses of Mosaic (MSC Mitochondrial Mutants of Cucumber in a Highly Inbred Nuclear Background

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Tomasz L. Mróz

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. has a large, paternally transmitted mitochondrial genome. Cucumber plants regenerated from cell cultures occasionally show paternally transmitted mosaic (MSC phenotypes, characterized by slower growth, chlorotic patterns on the leaves and fruit, lower fertility, and rearrangements in their mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs. MSC lines 3, 12, and 16 originated from different cell cultures all established using the highly inbred, wild-type line B. These MSC lines possess different rearrangements and under-represented regions in their mtDNAs. We completed RNA-seq on normalized and non-normalized cDNA libraries from MSC3, MSC12, and MSC16 to study their nuclear gene-expression profiles relative to inbred B. Results from both libraries indicated that gene expression in MSC12 and MSC16 were more similar to each other than MSC3. Forty-one differentially expressed genes (DEGs were upregulated and one downregulated in the MSC lines relative to B. Gene functional classifications revealed that more than half of these DEGs are associated with stress-response pathways. Consistent with this observation, we detected elevated levels of hydrogen peroxide throughout leaf tissue in all MSC lines compared to wild-type line B. These results demonstrate that independently produced MSC lines with different mitochondrial polymorphisms show unique and shared nuclear responses. This study revealed genes associated with stress response that could become selection targets to develop cucumber cultivars with increased stress tolerance, and further support of cucumber as a model plant to study nuclear-mitochondrial interactions.

Effects of exogenous application of CPPU, NAA and GA4+7 on parthenocarpy and fruit quality in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Chunlu; Ren, Nannan; Wang, Jingye; Xu, Qiang; Chen, Xuehao; Qi, Xiaohua

2018-03-15

In protected vegetable fields, plant growth regulators are often used to improve cucumber fruit growth. However, the effects of plant growth regulators on the appearance and nutritional quality of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) remain largely unknown. In the present study, 100 mg/L N-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)-N'-phenylurea (CPPU), naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) or gibberellin A4+A7 (GA 4+7 ) was applied to the female cucumber flowers 1 day before anthesis and at anthesis. The CPPU, NAA and GA 4+7 treatments resulted in parthenocarpic fruits with similar weights, sizes and shapes as the pollinated fruits. NAA treatment did not affect the appearance and nutritional characteristics of cucumber at harvest and after storage. CPPU treatment increased the flesh firmness at harvest but decreased phenolic acid and vitamin C contents after storage. GA 4+7 treatment decreased the flesh firmness but increased total flavonoids and protein content after storage. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patterning of anteroposterior body axis displayed in the expression of Hox genes in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Kikuchi, Mani; Omori, Akihito; Kurokawa, Daisuke; Akasaka, Koji

2015-09-01

The presence of an anteroposterior body axis is a fundamental feature of bilateria. Within this group, echinoderms have secondarily evolved pentameral symmetric body plans. Although all echinoderms present bilaterally symmetric larval stages, they dramatically rearrange their body axis and develop a pentaradial body plan during metamorphosis. Therefore, the location of their anteroposterior body axis in adult forms remains a contentious issue. Unlike other echinoderms, sea cucumbers present an obvious anteroposterior axis not rearranged during metamorphosis, thus representing an interesting group to study their anteroposterior axis patterning. Hox genes are known to play a broadly conserved role in anteroposterior axis patterning in deuterostomes. Here, we report the expression patterns of Hox genes from early development to pentactula stage in sea cucumber. In early larval stages, five Hox genes (AjHox1, AjHox7, AjHox8, AjHox11/13a, and AjHox11/13b) were expressed sequentially along the archenteron, suggesting that the role of anteroposterior patterning of the Hox genes is conserved in bilateral larvae of echinoderms. In doliolaria and pentactula stages, eight Hox genes (AjHox1, AjHox5, AjHox7, AjHox8, AjHox9/10, AjHox11/13a, AjHox11/13b, and AjHox11/13c) were expressed sequentially along the digestive tract, following a similar expression pattern to that found in the visceral mesoderm of other bilateria. Unlike other echinoderms, pentameral expression patterns of AjHox genes were not observed in sea cucumber. Altogether, we concluded that AjHox genes are involved in the patterning of the digestive tract in both larvae and metamorphosis of sea cucumbers. In addition, the anteroposterior axis in sea cucumbers might be patterned like that of other bilateria.

Effects of water depth and substrate color on the growth and body color of the red sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Senhao; Dong, Shuanglin; Gao, Qinfeng; Ren, Yichao; Wang, Fang

2015-05-01

Three color variants of the sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus are recognized, the red one is highly valued in the market. When the red variant is cultured in ponds in China, its body color changes from red to celadon in 3-6 months. The effects of water depth and substrate color on the growth and body color of this animal were investigated. Juveniles of red A. japonicus were cultured in cages suspended at a range of water depths (20, 50, 100, 150 and 200 cm). The specific growth rate of red sea cucumbers was significantly higher in animals cultured at deeper water layers compared with those grown at shallowers. Body weights were greatest for sea cucumbers cultured at a depth of 150 cm and their survival rates were highest at a depth of 200 cm. A scale to evaluate the color of red sea cucumbers ( R value) was developed using a Pantone standard color card. All stocked animals in the 9-month trial retained a red color, however the red body color was much more intense in sea cucumbers cultured at shallower depths, while animals suspended in deeper layers became pale. In a separate trial, A. japonicus were cultured in suspended cages with seven different colored substrates. Substrate color had a significant effect on the growth and body-color of red A. japonicus. The yield were greatest for A. japonicus cultured on a yellow substrate, followed by green > white > orange > red > black and blue. All sea cucumbers in the 7-month trial retained a red color, although the red was most intense (highest R value) in animals cultured on a blue substrate and pale (lowest R value) for animals cultured on a green substrate.

Protective effects of chicken egg yolk antibody (IgY) against experimental Vibrio splendidus infection in the sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus).

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaoyu; Jing, Kailin; Wang, Xitao; Li, Yuan; Zhang, Meixia; Li, Zhen; Xu, Le; Wang, Lili; Xu, Yongping

2016-01-01

Vibrio splendidus is one of the most harmful pathogens associated with skin ulceration syndrome in the sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) due to its high virulence and frequency of appearance. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of chicken egg yolk antibody (IgY) against V. splendidus infection in the sea cucumber. Whole V. splendidus cells were used as an immunogen to immunize 20 White Leghorn hens (25 weeks old). IgY was produced from egg yolks obtained from these immunized hens using water dilution, two-step salt precipitation and ultrafiltration. The purity of the IgY produced was approximately 83%. Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay indicated a high specificity for IgY with a maximum antibody titer of 320,000. The growth of V. splendidus in liquid medium was significantly inhibited by IgY in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations ranging from 1 to 10 mg/mL. The protective effects of IgY were evaluated in sea cucumber by intraperitoneally injecting anti-V. splendidus IgY antibodies (10 mg/mL) or immersing the sea cucumber in aqueous IgY (1 g/L) after an intraperitoneal injection of V. splendidus. Intraperitoneal injection resulted in an 80% survival while immersion resulted in a 75% survival during the 11-day experimental period. The survival rates were significantly higher than the positive control and the non-specific IgY group (P sea cucumber treated with specific IgY than those treated with non-specific IgY. The phagocytosis of coelomocytes for V. splendidus in the presence of specific IgY was significantly (P sea cucumbers against V. splendidus infection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The novel ethylene-responsive factor CsERF025 affects the development of fruit bending in cucumber.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chunhua; Xin, Ming; Zhou, Xiuyan; Liu, Chunhong; Li, Shengnan; Liu, Dong; Xu, Yuan; Qin, Zhiwei

2017-11-01

Overexpression of CsERF025 induces fruit bending by promoting the production of ethylene. Cucumber fruit bending critically affects cucumber quality, but the mechanism that causes fruit bending remains unclear. To better understand this mechanism, we performed transcriptome analyses on tissues from the convex (C1) and concave (C2) sides of bending and straight (S) fruit at 2 days post anthesis (DPA). We identified a total of 281 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from both the convex and concave sides of bent fruit that showed significantly different expression profiles relative to straight fruits. Of these 281 DEGs, 196 were up-regulated (C1/S_C2/S) and 85 were down-regulated (C1/S_C2/S). Among the 196 up-regulated DEGs, the transcriptional levels of genes related to ethylene biosynthesis and signaling pathways were significantly higher in bending fruit compared with straight fruit. CsERF025 showed the largest difference in expression between bending and straight fruit. CsERF025 is an AP2/ERF gene encoding a protein that localizes to the nucleus. Overexpression of this gene increased the bending rate of cucumber fruits and increased the angle of bending. CsERF025 increased both the expression of ethylene biosynthesis-related genes and the production of ethylene. The application of exogenous 1-aminocyclopropane-l-carboxylic acid (ACC) to straight fruits from control plants promoted fruit bending. Thus, CsERF025 enhances the production of ethylene and thereby promotes fruit bending in cucumber.

Wild bees visiting cucumber on midwestern U.S. organic farms benefit from near-farm semi-natural areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, A A; Bentley, M; Reynolds, H L

2013-02-01

Wild bees that provide pollination services to vegetable crops depend on forage resources, nesting sites, and overwintering sites in the agricultural landscape. The scale at which crop-visiting bees use resources in the landscape can vary regionally, and has not been characterized in the Midwestern United States. We investigated the effects of seminatural land cover on wild bee visitation frequency to cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and on wild bee species richness on 10 organic farms in Indiana. We estimated the spatial scale at which the effects of land cover were strongest, and also examined the effects of nonlandscape factors on wild bees. The visitation frequency of wild bees to cucumber was positively related to the proportion of seminatural land in the surrounding landscape, and this relationship was strongest within 250 m of the cucumber patch. The species richness of wild cucumber visitors was not affected by land cover at any spatial scale, nor by any of the nonlandscape factors we considered. Our results indicate that wild, crop visiting bees benefit from seminatural areas in the agricultural landscape, and benefit most strongly from seminatural areas within 250 m of the crop field. This suggests that setting aside natural areas in the near vicinity of vegetable fields may be an effective way to support wild, crop-visiting bees and secure their pollination services.

Nibbling and picking in obese patients with Binge Eating Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Masheb, Robin M; Roberto, Christina A; White, Marney A

2013-12-01

The goal of this study was to examine the clinical utility of nibbling behavior, defined as eating in an unplanned and repetitious manner between meals and snacks without a sense of loss of control, in obese patients with Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Two-hundred seventeen (N = 217) consecutive, treatment-seeking, obese patients with BED were assessed with the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE). Nibbling frequency was examined in relation to current weight, eating disorder psychopathology and eating patterns. Results found that nibbling/picking was not related to body mass index, objective bulimic, subjective bulimic, or overeating episodes, food avoidance, sensitivity to weight gain, or any subscales of the EDE. However, nibbling/picking was significantly related to frequency of morning and afternoon snacking (r = .21, p = .002; r = .27, p < .001). The assessment of nibbling/picking behaviors among individuals with BED might not provide clinically significant information. © 2013.

Lysosomal and Mitochondrial Liaisons in Niemann-Pick Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Torres

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Lysosomal storage disorders (LSD are characterized by the accumulation of diverse lipid species in lysosomes. Niemann-Pick type A/B (NPA/B and type C diseases Niemann-Pick type C (NPC are progressive LSD caused by loss of function of distinct lysosomal-residing proteins, acid sphingomyelinase and NPC1, respectively. While the primary cause of these diseases differs, both share common biochemical features, including the accumulation of sphingolipids and cholesterol, predominantly in endolysosomes. Besides these alterations in lysosomal homeostasis and function due to accumulation of specific lipid species, the lysosomal functional defects can have far-reaching consequences, disrupting intracellular trafficking of sterols, lipids and calcium through membrane contact sites (MCS of apposed compartments. Although MCS between endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria have been well studied and characterized in different contexts, emerging evidence indicates that lysosomes also exhibit close proximity with mitochondria, which translates in their mutual functional regulation. Indeed, as best illustrated in NPC disease, alterations in the lysosomal-mitochondrial liaisons underlie the secondary accumulation of specific lipids, such as cholesterol in mitochondria, resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction and defective antioxidant defense, which contribute to disease progression. Thus, a better understanding of the lysosomal and mitochondrial interactions and trafficking may identify novel targets for the treatment of Niemann-Pick disease.

Effect of pesticides on the uptake and transport of radiophosphorus in horse-bean and cucumber plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanker, I; Taimr, L; Kudelova, A [Vyzkumne Ustavy Rostlinne Vyroby, Prague (Czechoslovakia). Ustav Ochrany Rostlin

1977-01-01

During the treatment of the roots of intact bean and cucumber plants with the preparation Pirimor (pirimicarb) and on the second day after application of the insecticides Bi 58 (dimethoate), Pirimor and Lannate (methomyl) to roots diminished /sup 32/P uptake was also noted after treatment of overground parts of bean plants with the preparation Pirimor. On the other hand, on the second day after application of the fungicide Folcidin (cypendazole) to the roots of cucumber plants /sup 32/P uptake was significantly stimulated, radioactivity being accumulated in the overground parts of plants.

[Salt stress tolerance of cucumber-grafted rootstocks].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Li-Ping; Sun, Jin; Guo, Shi-Rong; Liu, Shu-Ren; Liu, Chao-Jie; Tian, Jing

2012-05-01

Taking 4 different Cucurbita maxima x C. moschata rootstocks for cucumber (Cucumis sativus) as test materials, a solution culture experiment was conducted to study their growth and antioxidative enzyme activities under the stresses of Ca(NO3)2 and NaCl, with the salt stress tolerance of the rootstocks evaluated by subordinate function. At 30 mmol x L(-1) of Ca (NO3)2 or 45 mmol x L(-1) of NaCl, the growth of the rootstock seedlings was improved; but at 60 and 120 mmol x L(-1) of Ca(NO3)2 or 90 and 180 mmol x L(-1) of NaCl, the growth and the antioxidative systems of the seedlings were inhibited, and the salt injury index of 'Qingzhen No. 1' was the smallest, with the decrement of biomass and SOD, POD and CAT activities and the increment of relative conductance being significantly lower than those of the others. Under the stress of high concentration Ca(NO3)2, the SOD, POD and CAT activities of test rootstocks were higher, and the salt injury index and relative conductance were lower, as compared with those under high concentration NaCl, suggesting that the damage of Ca(NO3)2 stress to cucumber-grafted rootstock were smaller than that of NaCl stress. Among the 4 rootstocks, 'Qingzhen No. 1' had the strongest salt stress tolerance, followed by 'Zuomu Nangua', 'Fengyuan Tiejia', and 'Chaoba Nangua'.

Belt for picking up liquids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sewell, R B.H.; Nelson, S P

1973-05-18

This belt for picking up liquids consists of a layer of strong material, e.g., coarse cloth, sewed on at least one layer of absorbing material, e.g., sponge cloth, the stitching being disposed along chevrons with their apexes along the central axis of the belt; the edges do not contain any other marks. This arrangement facilitates the expulsion of the absorbed liquid when the belt passes between compression rollers.

Fate and effect of tire rubber ash nano-particles (RANPs) in cucumber.

Science.gov (United States)

Moghaddasi, Sahar; Hossein Khoshgoftarmanesh, Amir; Karimzadeh, Fatholah; Chaney, Rufus

2015-05-01

There are growing interests on effects of nano-materials on living organisms including higher plants. No report is available on positive and negative effects of rubber ash nano-particles (RANPs) on edible plants. Recently, we reported the possibility of using waste tire rubber and rubber ash as zinc (Zn) fertilizer for plants. In this nutrient solution culture study, for the first time, root uptake and the effects of RANPs on growth and Zn, cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) concentration in cucumber was investigated. Various Zn levels (0, 1, 5, 25, 125mgL(-1)) were applied in the form of RANPs or ZnSO4. The root RANPs uptake was visualized by light (LA), scanning electron (SEM), and transmission electron microcopies (TEM). At all Zn levels, cucumber plants supplied with RANPs produced higher shoot and root biomass compared with those supplied with ZnSO4. In addition, the RANPs resulted in higher accumulation of Zn in cucumber tissues in comparison with ZnSO4; although phytotoxicity of Zn from ZnSO4 was greater than that from RANPs. Clear evidence of the RANPs penetration into the root cells was obtained by using SEM and TEM. Filaments of RANPs were also observed at the end of roots by LM and TEM. Further research is needed to clarify the fate of the RANPs in plant cells and their possible risks for food chain. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Consistency of control of damping-off of cucumber is improved by combining ethanol extract of Serratia marcescens with other biologically based technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Environmentally friendly disease control tactics are needed that are consistently effective in soils that vary with regard to their biotic and abiotic components. An ethanol extract of Serratia marcescens N4-5, when applied as a cucumber seed treatment, effectively suppressed damping-off of cucumbe...

Rheological and structural properties of sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus during heat treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xin; Xue, Dongmei; Zhang, Zhaohui; Xu, Jiachao; Xue, Changhu

2005-07-01

Changes in tissue structure, rheological properties and water content of raw and heated sea cucumber meat were studied. Sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus was heated at 25°C , 70°C and 100°C water for 5 min. The structural changes were observed using a light microscope and the rheological parameters (rupture strength, adhesive strength and deformation) determined using a texture meter. Microscopic photograph revealed that the structural change of heated meat was greater than that of raw meat. The rupture strength, adhesive strength and deformation of raw meat were smaller than those of the heated meat. Meanwhile, rheological parameters showed positive correlation with heating temperature. These changes are mainly caused by thermal denaturation and gelatinization of collagen during heating. These changes were also evidenced in observations using a light microscope and differential scanning calorimetry.

Chain conformational and physicochemical properties of fucoidans from sea cucumber.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xiaoqi; Xue, Changhu; Chang, Yaoguang; Wang, Jun; Jiang, Kunhao

2016-11-05

Although fucoidans from sea cucumber (SC-FUCs) have been proven as potential bioactive polysaccharides and functional food ingridents, their chain conformation and physicochemical properties were still poorly understood. This study investigated the chain conformation of fucoidans from sea cucumber Acaudina molpadioides (Am-FUC), Isostichopus badionotus (Ib-FUC) and Apostichopus japonicus (Aj-FUC), of which primary structure has been recently clarified. Chain conformation parameters demonstrated that studied SC-FUCs adopted random coil conformation in 150mM NaCl solution (pH 7.4). Based on the worm-like cylinder model and atomic force microscopy, the chain stiffness of SC-FUCs was further evaluated as Am-FUC≈Ib-FUC>Aj-FUC. It was suggested that the existence of branch structure increased the chain flexibility, while sulfated pattern exerted limited influence. SC-FUCs demonstrated shear-thinning rheological behavior and negative charge. Am-FUC possessed a higher thermostability than Ib-FUC and Aj-FUC. These results have important implications for understanding the molecular characteristics of SC-FUCs, which could facilitate their further application. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Arsenic speciation in xylem sap of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mihucz, Victor G. [Joint Research Group of Environmental Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and L. Eoetvoes University, Budapest (Hungary); Hungarian Satellite Centre of Trace Elements Institute to UNESCO, Budapest (Hungary); Tatar, Eniko [Hungarian Satellite Centre of Trace Elements Institute to UNESCO, Budapest (Hungary); L. Eoetvoes University, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Budapest (Hungary); Virag, Istvan [L. Eoetvoes University, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Budapest (Hungary); Cseh, Edit; Fodor, Ferenc [L. Eoetvoes University, Department of Plant Physiology, Budapest (Hungary); Zaray, Gyula [Joint Research Group of Environmental Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and L. Eoetvoes University, Budapest (Hungary); Hungarian Satellite Centre of Trace Elements Institute to UNESCO, Budapest (Hungary); L. Eoetvoes University, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Budapest (Hungary)

2005-10-01

Flow injection analysis (FIA) and high-performance liquid chromatography double-focusing sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-DF-ICP-MS) were used for total arsenic determination and arsenic speciation of xylem sap of cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L.) grown in hydroponics containing 2 {mu}mol dm{sup -3} arsenate or arsenite, respectively. Arsenite [As(III)], arsenate [As(V)] and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) were identified in the sap of the plants. Arsenite was the predominant arsenic species in the xylem saps regardless of the type of arsenic treatment, and the following concentration order was determined: As(III) > As(V) > DMA. The amount of total As, calculated taking into consideration the mass of xylem sap collected, was almost equal for both treatments. Arsenite was taken up more easily by cucumber than arsenate. Partial oxidation of arsenite to arsenate (<10% in 48 h) was observed in the case of arsenite-containing nutrient solutions, which may explain the detection of arsenate in the saps of plants treated with arsenite. (orig.)

Genotype X Environment Interaction for Yield of Pickling Cucumber in 24 U.S. Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dia Mahendra

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Reliable yield performance is important in cucumber because seed companies prefer to market cultivars adapted to multiple rather than single regions of the U.S. Also, growers benefit by using a cultivar that performs well in many environments. Future performance of cultivars is also important. The objectives of the study were to (i evaluate the yield of cucumber genotypes over successive years and in different locations, and (ii identify cucumber genotypes with high stability for yield. A diverse set of 22 pickling genotypes was evaluated over 3 years (1986, 1987 and 1988 and in 7 locations across the United States. Yield traits were evaluated using once-over harvest and counting the number of fruit that were marketable, culled or oversize. Total yield, marketable yield (total minus culled fruit, early yield (number of oversize fruit, percent culls and fruit per plant were calculated. Data were analyzed with SASGxE and RGxE programs using SAS and R programming languages, respectively. There were strong effects of environment(E as well as genotype(G xE interaction for all traits. Genotypes ‘Regal F1’, ‘Calypso F1’, ‘Carolina F1’, ‘Gy 3’, ‘Gy 14’ and ‘Fremont F1’ had high marketable yield and medium to high stability for all traits. There was an advantage of hybrids over inbreds for trait performance. Hybrids fell into a single cluster with large prediction intervals. Based on the stability statistics and divisive clusters, it appears possible to breed stable cucumber genotypes with high yield. The genotype with highest performance for marketable yield, greatest stability for yield, lowest 1-R2 ratio value (diverse and representative were ‘Marbel F1’ and Gy 14.

Psychosocial dysfunction associated with skin picking disorder and trichotillomania

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grant, Jon E.; Redden, Sarah A.; Leppink, Eric W.

2016-01-01

Skin picking disorder (SPD) and trichotillomania (TTM) are common and oftentimes disabling disorders. 125 Participants with SPD and 152 with TTM undertook clinical and neurocognitive evaluation, and were grouped according to mild, moderate, or severe levels of psychosocial dysfunction. Relationsh......Skin picking disorder (SPD) and trichotillomania (TTM) are common and oftentimes disabling disorders. 125 Participants with SPD and 152 with TTM undertook clinical and neurocognitive evaluation, and were grouped according to mild, moderate, or severe levels of psychosocial dysfunction...... that levels of self-reported psychosocial dysfunction have a strong association with specific clinical aspects of SPD and TTM....

Succession and seasonal variation in epilithic biofilms on artificial reefs in culture waters of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Liming; Du, Rongbin; Zhang, Xiaoling; Dong, Shuanglin; Sun, Shichun

2017-01-01

Periphytic biofilms in aquaculture waters are thought to improve water quality, provide an additional food source, and improve the survival and growth of some reared animals. In the Asia- Pacific region, particularly in China, artificial reefs are commonly used in the commercial farming of sea cucumbers. However, few studies have examined the epilithic biofilms on the artificial reefs. To gain a better understanding of the succession of epilithic biofilms and their ecological processes in sea cucumber culture waters, two experiments were conducted in culture waters of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus in Rongcheng, China, using artificial test panels. On the test panels of succession experiment, more than 67 species were identified in the biofilms. On the test panels of seasonal variation experiment, more than 46 species were recorded in the biofilms. In both experiments, communities of epilithic biofilms were dominated by diatoms, green algae and the annelid Spirorbis sp. In the initial colonization, the dominant diatoms were Cocconeis sp., Amphora spp. and Nitzschia closterium in June, which were succeeded by species of Navicula, Cocconeis and Nitzschia (July to September), and then by Licmophora abbreviata, Nitzschia closterium and Synedra spp. in the following months. A diatom bloom in the autumn and filamentous green algae burst in the summer were also observed. Ecological indices well annotated the succession and seasonal changes in epilithic communities. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis found significant differences in diatom community composition among months and seasons. Fast growth of biofilms was observed in the summer and autumn, whereas the biomass of summer biofilms was largely made up of filamentous green algae. Present results show that the components of epilithic biofilms are mostly optimal foods of A. japonicus, suggesting that biofilms on artificial reefs may contribute important nutritional sources for sea cucumbers during their

Arrival-time picking method based on approximate negentropy for microseismic data

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yue; Ni, Zhuo; Tian, Yanan

2018-05-01

Accurate and dependable picking of the first arrival time for microseismic data is an important part in microseismic monitoring, which directly affects analysis results of post-processing. This paper presents a new method based on approximate negentropy (AN) theory for microseismic arrival time picking in condition of much lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). According to the differences in information characteristics between microseismic data and random noise, an appropriate approximation of negentropy function is selected to minimize the effect of SNR. At the same time, a weighted function of the differences between maximum and minimum value of AN spectrum curve is designed to obtain a proper threshold function. In this way, the region of signal and noise is distinguished to pick the first arrival time accurately. To demonstrate the effectiveness of AN method, we make many experiments on a series of synthetic data with different SNR from -1 dB to -12 dB and compare it with previously published Akaike information criterion (AIC) and short/long time average ratio (STA/LTA) methods. Experimental results indicate that these three methods can achieve well picking effect when SNR is from -1 dB to -8 dB. However, when SNR is as low as -8 dB to -12 dB, the proposed AN method yields more accurate and stable picking result than AIC and STA/LTA methods. Furthermore, the application results of real three-component microseismic data also show that the new method is superior to the other two methods in accuracy and stability.

Structural Elucidation of Novel Saponins in the Sea Cucumber Holothuria lessoni

Science.gov (United States)

Bahrami, Yadollah; Zhang, Wei; Chataway, Tim; Franco, Chris

2014-01-01

Sea cucumbers are prolific producers of a wide range of bioactive compounds. This study aimed to purify and characterize one class of compound, the saponins, from the viscera of the Australian sea cucumber Holothuria lessoni. The saponins were obtained by ethanolic extraction of the viscera and enriched by a liquid-liquid partition process and adsorption column chromatography. A high performance centrifugal partition chromatography (HPCPC) was applied to the saponin-enriched mixture to obtain saponins with high purity. The resultant purified saponins were profiled using MALDI-MS/MS and ESI-MS/MS which revealed the structure of isomeric saponins to contain multiple aglycones and/or sugar residues. We have elucidated the structure of five novel saponins, Holothurins D/E and Holothurinosides X/Y/Z, along with seven reported triterpene glycosides, including sulfated and non-sulfated saponins containing a range of aglycones and sugar moieties, from the viscera of H. lessoni. The abundance of novel compounds from this species holds promise for biotechnological applications. PMID:25110919

Herbert L. Pick Jr. (1930-2012).

Science.gov (United States)

Rieser, John J; Lockman, Jeffrey J

2013-01-01

Presents an obituary for Herbert L. Pick Jr. For 49 years at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development, new students were often greeted by an unassuming guy who rode to work on his bike, helped them carry boxes of books to their offices, and turned out to be a famous professor. Herbert L. Pick Jr. was a fabulous mentor, teacher, and developmental scientist. His work on perception and perceptual development spanned basic and applied science, laboratory and real-world settings. He was honored with the Division 7 (Developmental Psychology) Mentor Award from the American Psychological Association in 1998. He was honored again in 2002, jointly with his wife Anne D. Pick, with a volume of the Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology based on a central theme of their work and titled "Action as an Organizer of Learning and Development." Two weeks before his death he was honored yet again with a Festschrift titled "Realism to Relevance: An Ecological Approach to Perception, Action and Cognition." Former students and academic admirers gave talks focused on the scientific themes Herb championed, namely, effects of experience on learning and development, organism-environment fit, environmental structure, and societal applications of research about basic psychological processes. He gave the final talk, and after thanking everyone in his typically humble way, he discussed his new research on visual-locomotor coordination. Herb died on June 18, 2012. He is greatly missed by Anne, his wife of 50 years; his sister Barbara; his daughters (and their husbands) Cindy (Jon), Karen (John), and Gretchen (Michael); and his grandchildren Alex, Ted, Katy, Joe, Eva, Sam, Rowan, and Culley. He is also missed by his many students, colleagues, friends, and admirers.

α-Glucosidase inhibitory activities of fatty acids purified from the internal organ of sea cucumber Stichopus japonicas.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, T H; Kim, S M

2015-04-01

α-Glucosidase inhibitory activities of the various solvent fractions (n-hexane, CHCl3 , EtOAc, BuOH, and water) of sea cucumber internal organ were investigated. 1,3-Dipalmitolein (1) and cis-9-octadecenoic acid (2) with potent α-glucosidase inhibitory activity were purified from the n-hexane fraction of sea cucumber internal organ. IC50 values of compounds 1 and 2 were 4.45 and 14.87 μM against Saccharomyces cerevisiae α-glucosidase. These compounds mildly inhibited rat-intestinal α-glucosidase. In addition, both compounds showed a mixed competitive inhibition against S. cerevisiae α-glucosidase and were very stable at pH 2 up to 60 min. The KI values of compounds 1 and 2 were 0.48 and 1.24 μM, respectively. Therefore, the internal organ of sea cucumber might be a potential new source of α-glucosidase inhibitors suitably used for prevention of obesity and diabetes mellitus. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

Structures of Two Yellow Dyes Found in Cucumbers Pickled in Soy Sauce Colored with Tartrazine (Y4).

Science.gov (United States)

Ogawa, Asamoe; Shindo, Tetsuya; Kyoko, Hitomi; Sadamasu, Yuki; Sakamaki, Narue; Uematsu, Yoko; Monma, Kimio

2017-01-01

Two yellow dyes, together with tartrazine (Y4), were found in cucumbers pickled in soy sauce, for which the use of tartrazine is permitted, by TLC, LC-DAD, and LC-MS. The retention times on LC chromatograms and the maximum absorbance wavelengths measured by LC-DAD of the two dyes were different from those of tartrazine. Mass spectra of the dyes indicated that these dyes lacked one sulfonyl group of tartrazine. The presence of two less sulfonated dyes in tartrazine has been reported. Hence, the two less sulfonated dyes were synthesized. The two dyes found in cucumbers were compared with the synthesized dyes by LC-DAD and LC-MS. Since the retention times of the dyes in cucumbers on the LC chromatograms, as well as their LC-DAD spectra and mass spectra, were found to be identical with those of the synthesized dyes, we concluded these dyes are the less sulfonated subsidiary dyes of tartrazine.

Transcriptome analysis of the sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) with variation in individual growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Lei; He, Chongbo; Bao, Xiangbo; Tian, Meilin; Ma, Zhen

2017-01-01

The sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) is an economically important aquaculture species in China. However, the serious individual growth variation often caused financial losses to farmers and the genetic mechanisms are poorly understood. In the present study, the extensively analysis at the transcriptome level for individual growth variation in sea cucumber was carried out. A total of 118946 unigenes were assembled from 255861 transcripts, with N50 of 1700. Of all unigenes, about 23% were identified with at least one significant match to known databases. In all four pair of comparison, 1840 genes were found to be expressed differently. Global hypometabolism was found to be occurred in the slow growing population, based on which the hypothesis was raised that growth retardation in individual growth variation of sea cucumber is one type of dormancy which is used to be against to adverse circumstances. Besides, the pathways such as ECM-receptor interaction and focal adhesion were enriched in the maintenance of cell and tissue structure and communication. Further, 76645 SSRs, 765242 SNPs and 146886 ins-dels were detected in the current study providing an extensive set of data for future studies of genetic mapping and selective breeding. In summary, these results will provides deep insight into the molecular basis of individual growth variation in marine invertebrates, and be valuable for understanding the physiological differences of growth process.

Transcriptome analysis of the sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus with variation in individual growth.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Gao

Full Text Available The sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus is an economically important aquaculture species in China. However, the serious individual growth variation often caused financial losses to farmers and the genetic mechanisms are poorly understood. In the present study, the extensively analysis at the transcriptome level for individual growth variation in sea cucumber was carried out. A total of 118946 unigenes were assembled from 255861 transcripts, with N50 of 1700. Of all unigenes, about 23% were identified with at least one significant match to known databases. In all four pair of comparison, 1840 genes were found to be expressed differently. Global hypometabolism was found to be occurred in the slow growing population, based on which the hypothesis was raised that growth retardation in individual growth variation of sea cucumber is one type of dormancy which is used to be against to adverse circumstances. Besides, the pathways such as ECM-receptor interaction and focal adhesion were enriched in the maintenance of cell and tissue structure and communication. Further, 76645 SSRs, 765242 SNPs and 146886 ins-dels were detected in the current study providing an extensive set of data for future studies of genetic mapping and selective breeding. In summary, these results will provides deep insight into the molecular basis of individual growth variation in marine invertebrates, and be valuable for understanding the physiological differences of growth process.

Robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Popov, E. P.; Iurevich, E. I.

The history and the current status of robotics are reviewed, as are the design, operation, and principal applications of industrial robots. Attention is given to programmable robots, robots with adaptive control and elements of artificial intelligence, and remotely controlled robots. The applications of robots discussed include mechanical engineering, cargo handling during transportation and storage, mining, and metallurgy. The future prospects of robotics are briefly outlined.

Response of maize and cucumber intercrop to soil moisture control ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Replicate field plots were used in experiments aimed at evaluating the yield potentials of maize and cucumber intercrop resulting from the control of soil moisture through irrigation and mulching, for a period of eleven weeks. Three irrigation depths, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 mm; and two mulch levels, zero mulch and 10 ton/ha of oil ...

CaCO3 dissolution by holothurians (sea cucumber): a case study from One Tree Reef, Great Barrier Reef

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, K.; Silverman, J.; Kravitz, B.; Woolsey, E.; Eriksson, H.; Schneider-Mor, A.; Barbosa, S.; Rivlin, T.; Byrne, M.; Caldeira, K.

2012-12-01

Holothurians (sea cucumbers) are among the largest and most important deposit feeder in coral reefs. They play a role in nutrient and CaCO3 cycling within the reef structure. As a result of their digestive process they secrete alkalinity due to CaCO3 dissolution and organic matter degradation forming CO2 and ammonium. In a survey at station DK13 on One Three Reef we found that the population density of holothurians was > 1 individual m-2. The dominant sea cucumber species Holothuria leucospilota was collected from DK13. The increase in alkalinity due to CaCO3 dissolution in aquaria incubations was measured to be 47±7 μmol kg-1 in average per individual. Combining this dissolution rate with the sea cucumbers concentrations at DK13 suggest that they may account for a dissolution rate of 34.9±17.8 mmol m-2 day-1, which is equivalent to about half of night time community dissolution measured in DK13. This indicates that in reefs where the sea cucumber population is healthy and protected from fishing they can be locally important in the CaCO3 cycle. Preliminary result suggests that the CaCO3 dissolution rates are not affected by the chemistry of the sea water they are incubated in. Measurements of the empty digestive track volume of two sea cucumbers H. atra and Stichopus herrmanni were 36 ± 4 ml and 151 ± 14 ml, respectively. Based on these measurements it is estimated that these species process 19 ± 2kg and 80 ± 7kg CaCO3 sand yr-1 per individual, respectively. The annual dissolution rates of H. atra and S. herrmanni are 6.5±1.9g and 9.6±1.4g, respectively, suggest that 0.05±0.02% and 0.1±0.02% of the CaCO3 processed through their gut annually is dissolved. During the incubations the CaCO3 dissolution was 0.07±0.01%, 0.04±0.01% and 0.21±0.05% of the fecal casts for H. atra, H. leucospilota and S. herrmanni, respectively. Our result that the primary parameter determining the CaCO3 dissolution by sea cucumber is the amount of carbonate send in their gut

Cucumber nitrogen utilization as affected by compost levels and nitrogen rates using 15N technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Sherif, M.F.; Abdalla, A.A.; Abdalla, M.M.F.; El-Oksh, I.I.

2005-01-01

The beneficial effect of compost application to the sandy soil on dry matter production of shoots and fruits as well as its effect on l5N-uptake and nitrogen utilization percent of cucumber plant (Cucumis sativus L.) were studied under field conditions. Two types of natural compost (i.e. sugar cane bagasse (SC) and beet compost (BC)) with three levels (2, 4, 6 ton/fed) in addition to check treatment for each kind of compost (sheep manure with rate of 20 in/fed) combined with three rates of nitrogen fertilizer rates (50, 75, 100% from the recommended rate, i.e. 75 kg /fed) were used. The bagasse compost in both seasons gave a significantly higher response than the beet compost. There was a greet reduction in cucumber dry weight, N yield, Ndff%, FN yield and N utilization % of shoots and fruits as the level of compost application decreased. However, cucumber plants grown on high compost application level (6 ton/fed) were similar in their responses to plants grown on the check treatment. The results of N utilization indicated that the fertilizer utilization by the cucumber shoots and fruits during both seasons was significantly higher for the medium N rate (75% N) in comparison to the lowest fertigation treatment (50% N) and similar to the highest N fertigation rate (100% N). Generally, the results showed that under the experimental conditions to reach an acceptable yield with a high fertilizer utilization, it could be suggested to apply relatively medium rates of N fertigation (56.25 kg N/fed) combined with the high level ofSC compost application (6 t/fed) keeping in mind the regional site conditions

Compositional analysis of sulfated polysaccharides from sea cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) released by autolysis reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Shuang; Wu, Sufeng; Ai, Chunqing; Xu, Xin; Zhu, Zhenjun; Cao, Chunyang; Yang, Jingfeng; Wen, Chengrong

2018-07-15

Autolysis is not only a major reason for postharvest quality deterioration of sea cucumber, but also a promising alternative for exogenous protease to produce peptides or polysaccharides. However, little has been known about the effects of autolysis on bioactive polysaccharides of sea cucumber. Concerning the quality and safety of sea cucumber products involved autolysis reaction, the present study focused on the chemical composition of sulfated polysaccharides (SPs) released by autolysis reaction. Chemical analysis indicated that after 3-day autolysis 63% of sulfated polysaccharides were liberated but with protein chains at their reducing ends. Then the composition of SP obtained by autolysis (A-SP) was compared with that of total SPs (T-SP) via a series of analysis techniques, including FTIR, 1 H NMR, HPLC and mass spectroscopy. As indicated by the results, fucan to fucosylated chondroitin sulfate ratio was found high in A-SP compared to T-SP, fucan with a lower molecular weight was the major fraction in A-SP, and the di-sulfated Fuc residue observed in T-SP was absent in A-SP. To conclude, A-SP differed greatly from T-SP in the chemical composition, suggesting possible changes on their bioactivities. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Robot 2015 : Second Iberian Robotics Conference : Advances in Robotics

CERN Document Server

Moreira, António; Lima, Pedro; Montano, Luis; Muñoz-Martinez, Victor

2016-01-01

This book contains a selection of papers accepted for presentation and discussion at ROBOT 2015: Second Iberian Robotics Conference, held in Lisbon, Portugal, November 19th-21th, 2015. ROBOT 2015 is part of a series of conferences that are a joint organization of SPR – “Sociedade Portuguesa de Robótica/ Portuguese Society for Robotics”, SEIDROB – Sociedad Española para la Investigación y Desarrollo de la Robótica/ Spanish Society for Research and Development in Robotics and CEA-GTRob – Grupo Temático de Robótica/ Robotics Thematic Group. The conference organization had also the collaboration of several universities and research institutes, including: University of Minho, University of Porto, University of Lisbon, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, University of Aveiro, University of Zaragoza, University of Malaga, LIACC, INESC-TEC and LARSyS. Robot 2015 was focussed on the Robotics scientific and technological activities in the Iberian Peninsula, although open to research and delegates from other...

In vitro and in vivo effects of Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus sp. on Fusarium acuminatum, Botrytis cinerea and Aspergillus niger infecting cucumber

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Jasmina Zdravković

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L is an important member of the Cucurbitaceae family. Production of healthy nursery is necessary for high-quality production of this crop in greenhouses and in fields. With the idea of minimizing the use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers to preserve soil quality, we investigated the effects of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB on growth promotion and protection of cucumber plants from phytopathogenic fungi. The effects of Pseudomonas spp. strains with different antifungal activities and Bacillus sp. Q10 strain with PGP activity were tested on cucumber plants. Antagonistic activity of Pseudomonas spp. against the growth of several phytopathogenic fungi isolated from cucumber: F. acuminatum, B. cinerea and A. niger, was observed. The influences of overnight cultures, supernatants and heat-stable antifungal factors were tested on the phytopathogenic fungi in vitro. Pseudomonas sp. K35 and K24 strains were more effective than P. chlororaphis Q16 and Pseudomonas sp. K27, showing 70-80% of fungal growth inhibition regardless of culture or fraction applied. The good antagonists that belong to pseudomonads and Bacillus sp. Q10 strain were used as mixtures for estimation of plant growth and health promoting effects on cucumber plants. Growth dynamics differed depending on the applied strain of Pseudomonas sp. The M3 treatment (a mixture of Bacillus sp. Q10 and P. chlororaphis Q16 stimulated the initial phase of growth, while M4 (a mixture of Bacillus sp. Q10 and Pseudomonas sp. K24 resulted in the maximal height at the final measurement. Significant differences in leaf and plant weight (M4, and leaf weight (M5, containing K35 strain were found after the treatments. No significant differences in chlorophyll and NBI level were observed in any of the tested combinations. The obtained results suggested that M3 was suitable for stimulation of the early phase of cucumber growth, while the mixtures M4 and M5 improved plant

Niemann-Pick disease type C

OpenAIRE

Vanier, Marie T

2010-01-01

Abstract Niemann-Pick C disease (NP-C) is a neurovisceral atypical lysosomal lipid storage disorder with an estimated minimal incidence of 1/120 000 live births. The broad clinical spectrum ranges from a neonatal rapidly fatal disorder to an adult-onset chronic neurodegenerative disease. The neurological involvement defines the disease severity in most patients but is typically preceded by systemic signs (cholestatic jaundice in the neonatal period or isolated spleno- or hepatosplenomegaly in...

Optimization of the Different Variables for the Development of a Cucumber-Based Blended Herbal Beverage

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Heena

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Cucumber is a nutritious vegetable containing a large amount of nutrients. Due to its numerous health benefits, and even after the blind taste test, it can be used as a beverage by blending it with other suitable juices. Therefore, an attempt has been made in the present study for the development of a cucumber-based blended herbal beverage using sugarcane juice, citric acid, mint and coriander extract (30:30:30 along with salt (white salt:black salt 1:1 at varying concentrations using the response surface methodology. The physicochemical (TSS, titratable acidity, pH, reducing sugars, total sugars, total proteins, total phenols, ascorbic acid, tannins and antioxidant activity and sensory analysis revealed that the best blend was obtained with a sugarcane juice concentration (of 30.14%, a salt concentration of 1.5%, citric acid, mint and a coriander extract concentration of 1%. It is apparent from the study that cucumber juice can be successfully blended with sugarcane juice to enhance its sensory properties, as well as the phytochemical potential with 0.953 desirability, which will open a new door in the beverage industry.

The effects of golden sea cucumber extract (Stichopus hermanii on the number of lymphocytes during the healing process of traumatic ulcer on wistar rat’s oral mucous

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Ira Arundina

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Indonesia is a country with the world’s biggest potential and producer of sea cucumbers. Golden sea cucumber contains glicosaminoglycans, such as heparan sulphate and chondroitin sulphate, which could have a positive implication on wound healing process. This acceleration of wound healing process could be observed through the increasing of lymphocytes on ulcus traumaticus. Purpose: This study aims to analyze the effects of golden sea cucumber extract on the number of lymphocytes during the healing process of traumatic ulcer on Wistar rat’s oral mucous. Method: Golden sea cucumber extrat was made with freeze-dried method, and then gel was prepared using PEG 400 and PEG 4000 solvent. Twenty male rats with mucosal ulcus made were divided into a control group and three treatment groups with 20%, 40% and 80% golden sea cucumber extracts. All samples were euthanized on day 4 and then a preparation for histopathological examination was made to examine the number of lymphocytes. Result: The biggest number of lymphocytes was found in the treatment group with 40% golden sea cucumber extract, while the lowest one was found in the control group. The results of one way Anova test then showed a significant difference between the control group and the treatment groups. And, the results of Tukey HSD showed a significant difference between the control group and the treatment group with 40% golden sea cucumber extract. Conclusion: It can be concluded that 40% golden sea cucumber (Stichopus hermanii extract can increase the number of lymphocytes during the healing process of traumatic ulcer on Wistar rat’s oral mucous.

Niemann-Pick disease, type B with TRAP-positive storage cells and secondary sea blue histiocytosis

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R. Saxena

2009-09-01

Full Text Available We present 2 cases of Niemann Pick disease, type B with secondary sea-blue histiocytosis. Strikingly, in both cases the Pick cells were positive for tartrate resistant acid phosphatase, a finding hitherto described only in Gaucher cells. This report highlights the importance of this finding as a potential cytochemical diagnostic pitfall in the diagnosis of Niemann Pick disease.

Preservation of acidified cucumbers with a natural preservative combination of fumaric acid and allyl isothiocyanate that target lactic acid bacteria and yeasts

Science.gov (United States)

Without the addition of preservative compounds cucumbers acidified with 150 mM acetic acid with pH adjusted to 3.5 typically undergo fermentation by lactic acid bacteria. Fumaric acid (20 mM) inhibited growth of Lactobacillus plantarum and the lactic acid bacteria present on fresh cucumbers, but sp...

An Evaluation on the Ratio of Plant to Animal Protein in the Diet of Juvenile Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus): Growth, Nutrient Digestibility and Nonspecific Immunity

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Pengyun; Li, Xiaoyu; Xu, Yongping

2018-05-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of plant/animal (P/A) protein ratios (viz.1:4, 1:3, 1:2, 1:1,2:1, 3:1, 4:1) on growth performance, body composition, apparent digestibility of diets, and nonspecific immunity of juvenile sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus). Sea cucumbers were divided into 21 plastic tanks, and each tank was stocked with 15 individuals (initial weight: about 23.73 g). Each feed was allocated to three replicates of sea cucumbers. The feeding experiment lasted for 50 days. Results indicated that weight gain rate (WGR) and body wall weight (BWW) significantly increased as dietary ratio of P/A increased from 1:4 to 3:1, and then decreased significantly with further increase of this ratio (P 0.05). The apparent digestibility of dry matter, protein and lipid increased with ratio of P/A increasing from 1:4 to 2:1 (P protein (1:1-3:1) significantly increased the growth performance, apparent digestibility, and nonspecific immunity of sea cucumber. This will contribute to improving the feed formulation for juvenile cucumbers.

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens L-S60 Reforms the Rhizosphere Bacterial Community and Improves Growth Conditions in Cucumber Plug Seedling

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Yuxuan Qin

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Vegetable plug seedling has become the most important way to produce vegetable seedlings in China. This seedling method can significantly improve the quality and yield of vegetables compared to conventional methods. In the process of plug seedling, chemical fertilizers or pesticides are often used to improve the yield of the seedlings albeit with increasing concerns. Meanwhile, little is known about the impact of beneficial bacteria on the rhizosphere microbiota and the growth conditions of vegetables during plug seedling. In this study, we applied a culture-independent next-generation sequencing-based approach and investigated the impact of a plant beneficial bacterium, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens L-S60, on the composition and dynamics of rhizosphere microbiota and the growth conditions of cucumbers during plug seedling. Our results showed that application of L-S60 significantly altered the structure of the bacterial community associated with the cucumber seedling; presence of beneficial rhizosphere species such as Bacillus, Rhodanobacter, Paenibacillus, Pseudomonas, Nonomuraea, and Agrobacterium was higher upon L-S60 treatment than in the control group. We also measured the impact of L-S60 application on the physiological properties of the cucumber seedlings as well as the availability of main mineral elements in the seedling at different time points during the plug seedling. Results from those measurements indicated that L-S60 application promoted growth conditions of cucumber seedlings and that more available mineral elements were detected in the cucumber seedlings from the L-S60 treated group than from the control group. The findings in this study provided evidence for the beneficial effects of plant growth-promoting rhizosphere bacteria on the bacterial community composition and growth conditions of the vegetables during plug seedling.

Identifying optimal reference genes for the normalization of microRNA expression in cucumber under viral stress

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Chaoqiong; Hao, Jianjun; Meng, Yan; Luo, Laixin; Li, Jianqiang

2018-01-01

Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) is an economically important pathogen and causes significant reduction of both yield and quality of cucumber (Cucumis sativus). Currently, there were no satisfied strategies for controlling the disease. A better understanding of microRNA (miRNA) expression related to the regulation of plant-virus interactions and virus resistance would be of great assistance when developing control strategies for CGMMV. However, accurate expression analysis is highly dependent on robust and reliable reference gene used as an internal control for normalization of miRNA expression. Most commonly used reference genes involved in CGMMV-infected cucumber are not universally expressed depending on tissue types and stages of plant development. It is therefore crucial to identify suitable reference genes in investigating the role of miRNA expression. In this study, seven reference genes, including Actin, Tubulin, EF-1α, 18S rRNA, Ubiquitin, GAPDH and Cyclophilin, were evaluated for the most accurate results in analyses using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Gene expression was assayed on cucumber leaves, stems and roots that were collected at different days post inoculation with CGMMV. The expression data were analyzed using algorithms including delta-Ct, geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper as well as the comparative tool RefFinder. The reference genes were subsequently validated using miR159. The results showed that EF-1α and GAPDH were the most reliable reference genes for normalizing miRNA expression in leaf, root and stem samples, while Ubiquitin and EF-1α were the most suitable combination overall. PMID:29543906

Genetic variation in jasmonic acid- and spider mite-induced plant volatile emission of cucumber accessions and attraction of the predator Phytoseiulus persimilis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kappers, Iris F; Verstappen, Francel W A; Luckerhoff, Ludo L P; Bouwmeester, Harro J; Dicke, Marcel

2010-05-01

Cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L.) respond to spider-mite (Tetranychus urticae) damage with the release of specific volatiles that are exploited by predatory mites, the natural enemies of the spider mites, to locate their prey. The production of volatiles also can be induced by exposing plants to the plant hormone jasmonic acid. We analyzed volatile emissions from 15 cucumber accessions upon herbivory by spider mites and upon exposure to jasmonic acid using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Upon induction, cucumber plants emitted over 24 different compounds, and the blend of induced volatiles consisted predominantly of terpenoids. The total amount of volatiles was higher in plants treated with jasmonic acid than in those infested with spider mites, with (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, (E,E)-alpha-farnesene, and (E)-beta-ocimene as the most abundant compounds in all accessions in both treatments. Significant variation among the accessions was found for the 24 major volatile compounds. The accessions differed strongly in total amount of volatiles emitted, and displayed very different odor profiles. Principal component analysis performed on the relative quantities of particular compounds within the blend revealed clusters of highly correlated volatiles, which is suggestive of common metabolic pathways. A number of cucumber accessions also were tested for their attractiveness to Phytoseiulus persimilis, a specialist predator of spider mites. Differences in the attraction of predatory mites by the various accessions correlated to differences in the individual chemical profiles of these accessions. The presence of genetic variation in induced plant volatile emission in cucumber shows that it is possible to breed for cucumber varieties that are more attractive to predatory mites and other biological control agents.

Robotic gaming prototype for upper limb exercise: Effects of age and embodiment on user preferences and movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Eizicovits, Danny; Edan, Yael; Tabak, Iris; Levy-Tzedek, Shelly

2018-01-01

Effective human-robot interactions in rehabilitation necessitates an understanding of how these should be tailored to the needs of the human. We report on a robotic system developed as a partner on a 3-D everyday task, using a gamified approach. To: (1) design and test a prototype system, to be ultimately used for upper-limb rehabilitation; (2) evaluate how age affects the response to such a robotic system; and (3) identify whether the robot's physical embodiment is an important aspect in motivating users to complete a set of repetitive tasks. 62 healthy participants, young (60 yo), played a 3D tic-tac-toe game against an embodied (a robotic arm) and a non-embodied (a computer-controlled lighting system) partner. To win, participants had to place three cups in sequence on a physical 3D grid. Cup picking-and-placing was chosen as a functional task that is often practiced in post-stroke rehabilitation. Movement of the participants was recorded using a Kinect camera. The timing of the participants' movement was primed by the response time of the system: participants moved slower when playing with the slower embodied system (p = 0.006). The majority of participants preferred the robot over the computer-controlled system. Slower response time of the robot compared to the computer-controlled one only affected the young group's motivation to continue playing. We demonstrated the feasibility of the system to encourage the performance of repetitive 3D functional movements, and track these movements. Young and old participants preferred to interact with the robot, compared with the non-embodied system. We contribute to the growing knowledge concerning personalized human-robot interactions by (1) demonstrating the priming of the human movement by the robotic movement - an important design feature, and (2) identifying response-speed as a design variable, the importance of which depends on the age of the user.

Use of ergonomic principles in manual order picking systems

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Labus Nina

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Successful companies are continually striving to streamline costs and optimize processes, enabling them to grow progress, develop and ensure competitiveness on the market. A large part of the costs arises in warehouses, where up to 55% of total costs are generated by order-picking, which makes it important and interesting in terms of research. The paper explores “picker to part” order-picking concept, which enables flexible work and is the optimal choice for most companies. The concept is associated with a high level of work-related injuries and work-related illnesses. Work requires physical efforts resulting from handling heavy goods, performing repetitive movements and using manipulative means. Human as the main actor of the concept affects the costs caused by picking and the quality of work done, which depends on technological support, physically and psychologically capable and motivated people. Due to the high costs of service, the focus on time planning and productivity increases. Contrary, the lack of attention is paid to the working conditions and the health status of the pickers. To overcome this gab, a review of scientific and professional literature on ergonomic principles in picking concept »picker to part« was carried out, followed by a quantitative survey of ergonomic properties in warehousing activities. Results revealed that more than 60% of the surveyed order-pickers associate problems with health with the characteristics of work, about 24% of them associate health problems with the use of a particular means of transport, and all agree that provided measures to reduce physical effort and greater support of technologies influence on increased speed of work and better health status of order-pickers.

Cultural Robotics: The Culture of Robotics and Robotics in Culture

OpenAIRE

Hooman Samani; Elham Saadatian; Natalie Pang; Doros Polydorou; Owen Noel Newton Fernando; Ryohei Nakatsu; Jeffrey Tzu Kwan Valino Koh

2013-01-01

In this paper, we have investigated the concept of “Cultural Robotics” with regard to the evolution of social into cultural robots in the 21st Century. By defining the concept of culture, the potential development of a culture between humans and robots is explored. Based on the cultural values of the robotics developers, and the learning ability of current robots, cultural attributes in this regard are in the process of being formed, which would define the new concept of cultural robotics. Ac...

Effect of culture methods on individual variation in the growth of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus within a cohort and family

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, Tianlong; Zhang, Libin; Zhang, Tao; Bai, Yucen; Yang, Hongsheng

2014-07-01

There is substantial individual variation in the growth rates of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus individuals. This necessitates additional work to grade the seed stock and lengthens the production period. We evaluated the influence of three culture methods (free-mixed, isolated-mixed, isolated-alone) on individual variation in growth and assessed the relationship between feeding, energy conversion efficiency, and individual growth variation in individually cultured sea cucumbers. Of the different culture methods, animals grew best when reared in the isolated-mixed treatment (i.e., size classes were held separately), though there was no difference in individual variation in growth between rearing treatment groups. The individual variation in growth was primarily attributed to genetic factors. The difference in food conversion efficiency caused by genetic differences among individuals was thought to be the origin of the variance. The level of individual growth variation may be altered by interactions among individuals and environmental heterogeneity. Our results suggest that, in addition to traditional seed grading, design of a new kind of substrate that changes the spatial distribution of sea cucumbers would effectively enhance growth and reduce individual variation in growth of sea cucumbers in culture.

Intestinal microbiota and immune related genes in sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) response to dietary β-glucan supplementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Gang; Xu, Zhenjiang; Tian, Xiangli; Dong, Shuanglin; Peng, Mo

2015-01-01

β-glucan is a prebiotic well known for its beneficial outcomes on sea cucumber health through modifying the host intestinal microbiota. High-throughput sequencing techniques provide an opportunity for the identification and characterization of microbes. In this study, we investigated the intestinal microbial community composition, interaction among species, and intestinal immune genes in sea cucumber fed with diet supplemented with or without β-glucan supplementation. The results show that the intestinal dominant classes in the control group are Flavobacteriia, Gammaproteobacteria, and Alphaproteobacteria, whereas Alphaproteobacteria, Flavobacteriia, and Verrucomicrobiae are enriched in the β-glucan group. Dietary β-glucan supplementation promoted the proliferation of the family Rhodobacteraceae of the Alphaproteobacteria class and the family Verrucomicrobiaceae of the Verrucomicrobiae class and reduced the relative abundance of the family Flavobacteriaceae of Flavobacteria class. The ecological network analysis suggests that dietary β-glucan supplementation can alter the network interactions among different microbial functional groups by changing the microbial community composition and topological roles of the OTUs in the ecological network. Dietary β-glucan supplementation has a positive impact on immune responses of the intestine of sea cucumber by activating NF-κB signaling pathway, probably through modulating the balance of intestinal microbiota. - Highlights: • Dietary β-glucan supplementation increases the abundance of Rhodobacteraceae and Verrucomicrobiaceae in the intestine. • Dietary β-glucan supplementation changes the topological roles of OTUs in the ecological network. • Dietary β-glucan supplementation has a positive impact on the immune response of intestine of sea cucumber

Intestinal microbiota and immune related genes in sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) response to dietary β-glucan supplementation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Gang [The Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Fisheries College, Ocean University of China (China); Xu, Zhenjiang [Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Tian, Xiangli, E-mail: xianglitian@ouc.edu.cn [The Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Fisheries College, Ocean University of China (China); Dong, Shuanglin [The Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Fisheries College, Ocean University of China (China); Peng, Mo [School of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University (China)

2015-02-27

β-glucan is a prebiotic well known for its beneficial outcomes on sea cucumber health through modifying the host intestinal microbiota. High-throughput sequencing techniques provide an opportunity for the identification and characterization of microbes. In this study, we investigated the intestinal microbial community composition, interaction among species, and intestinal immune genes in sea cucumber fed with diet supplemented with or without β-glucan supplementation. The results show that the intestinal dominant classes in the control group are Flavobacteriia, Gammaproteobacteria, and Alphaproteobacteria, whereas Alphaproteobacteria, Flavobacteriia, and Verrucomicrobiae are enriched in the β-glucan group. Dietary β-glucan supplementation promoted the proliferation of the family Rhodobacteraceae of the Alphaproteobacteria class and the family Verrucomicrobiaceae of the Verrucomicrobiae class and reduced the relative abundance of the family Flavobacteriaceae of Flavobacteria class. The ecological network analysis suggests that dietary β-glucan supplementation can alter the network interactions among different microbial functional groups by changing the microbial community composition and topological roles of the OTUs in the ecological network. Dietary β-glucan supplementation has a positive impact on immune responses of the intestine of sea cucumber by activating NF-κB signaling pathway, probably through modulating the balance of intestinal microbiota. - Highlights: • Dietary β-glucan supplementation increases the abundance of Rhodobacteraceae and Verrucomicrobiaceae in the intestine. • Dietary β-glucan supplementation changes the topological roles of OTUs in the ecological network. • Dietary β-glucan supplementation has a positive impact on the immune response of intestine of sea cucumber.

Effects of dietary β-glucan and glycyrrhizin on non-specific immunity and disease resistance of the sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus Selenka) challenged with Vibrio splendidus

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Jie; Zhang, Wenbing; Mai, Kangsen; Ma, Hongming; Xu, Wei

2010-12-01

Sea cucumbers, Apostichopus japonicus Selenka, were fed diets containing non-immunostimulant (basal diet), 0.2% β-glucan and 0.02% glycyrrhizin in a recirculatory water system for 45 days, and subsequently challenged with Vibrio splendidus by injection at 1.0×108 cfu / sea cucumber for 15 days. Phagocytic capacity (PC), intracellular superoxide anion production (ISAP), lysozyme (LSZ) activity and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the coelomic fluid were analyzed on the 0th, 5th, 10th and 15th days after injection. Results showed that after the 45-day feeding period, PC, ISAP, LSZ activity and SOD activity in sea cucumbers fed with dietary β-glucan or glycyrrhizin were significantly higher than in those fed with the basal diet. On the 5th day after infection, all the immune parameters examined in the sea cucumbers injected with V. splendidus decreased in value significantly. On the 15th day, PC, ISAP and LSZ activity returned to levels similar to those on the 0th day. For the sea cucumbers injected with saline, there were no significant differences in all the immune parameters examined and in the cumulative morbidity during the 15-day challenging trial. After injecting with V. splendidus, the cumulative morbidity of sea cucumbers fed with the basal diet was significantly higher than those fed with dietary β-glucan or glycyrrhizin when challenged with V. splendidus challenged sea cucumber fed with the basal diet was significantly higher than those fed with dietary β-glucan or glycyrrhizin. There was no significant difference in cumulative morbidity between the dietary β-glucan and glycyrrhizin treatments over time.

Technique and effects of pre-sowing laser biostimulation of cucumber seeds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gładyszewska, B.; Koper, R.; Kornarzyński, K.

1998-01-01

Laser treatment of seeds before sowing at selected irradiation doses was described. Particular attention was paid to determining energy doses for biostimulation. Results obtained at experimental irradiation of short green-house cucumber seeds, Pasandra and Picobello cultivars, were presented. Considerable increase in yields was observed as a result of applied method

Development of a doorframe-typed swinging seedling pick-up device for automatic field transplantation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, H.; Mao, H.; Hu, J.; Tian, K.

2015-07-01

A doorframe-typed swing seedling pick-up device for automatic field transplanters was developed and evaluated in a laboratory. The device, consisting of a path manipulator and two grippers, can move the pins slowly to extract seedlings from the tray cells and return quickly to the pick-up point for the next extraction. The path manipulator was constructed with the creative design of type-Ⅱ mechanism combination in series. It consists of an oscillating guide linkage mechanism and a grooved globoidal cam mechanism. The gripper is a pincette-type mechanism using the pick-up pins to penetrate into the root mass for seedling extraction. The dynamic analysis of the designed seedling pick-up device was simulated with ADAMS software. Being the first prototype, various performance tests under local production conditions were conducted to find out the optimal machine operation parameters and transplant production conditions. As the gripper with multiple fine pins was moved by the swing pick-up device, it can effectively complete the transplanting work cycle of extracting, transferring, and discharging a seedling. The laboratory evaluation showed that the pick-up device equipped with two grippers can extract 80 seedlings/min with a 90% success and a 3% failure in discharging seedlings, using 42-day-old tomato plantlets. The quality of extracting seedlings was satisfactory. (Author)

The effects of different sewage sludge amendment rates on the heavy metal bioaccumulation, growth and biomass of cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Eid, Ebrahem M; Alrumman, Sulaiman A; El-Bebany, Ahmed F; Hesham, Abd El-Latif; Taher, Mostafa A; Fawy, Khaled F

2017-07-01

When sewage sludge is incorrectly applied, it may adversely impact agro-system productivity. Thus, this study addresses the reaction of Cucumis sativus L. (cucumber) to different amendment rates (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 g kg -1 ) of sewage sludge in a greenhouse pot experiment, in which the plant growth, heavy metal uptake and biomass were evaluated. A randomized complete block design with six treatments and six replications was used as the experimental design. The soil electrical conductivity, organic matter and Cr, Fe, Zn and Ni concentrations increased, but the soil pH decreased in response to the sewage sludge applications. As approved by the Council of European Communities, all of the heavy metal concentrations in the sewage sludge were less than the permitted limit for applying sewage sludge to land. Generally, applications of sewage sludge of up to 40 g kg -1 resulted in a considerable increase in all of the morphometric parameters and biomass of cucumbers in contrast to plants grown on the control soil. Nevertheless, the cucumber shoot height; root length; number of leaves, internodes and fruits; leaf area; absolute growth rate and biomass decreased in response to 50 g kg -1 of sewage sludge. All of the heavy metal concentrations (except the Cu, Zn and Ni in the roots, Mn in the fruits and Pb in the stems) in different cucumber tissues increased with increasing sewage sludge application rates. However, all of the heavy metal concentrations (except the Cr and Fe in the roots, Fe in the leaves and Cu in the fruits) were within the normal range and did not reach phytotoxic levels. A characteristic of these cucumbers was that all of the heavy metals had a bioaccumulation factor sewage sludge used in this study could be considered for use as a fertilizer in cucumber production systems in Saudi Arabia and can also serve as a substitute method of sewage sludge disposal. Graphical Abstract The effects of different sewage sludge amendment rates on the heavy

Robot Actors, Robot Dramaturgies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jochum, Elizabeth

This paper considers the use of tele-operated robots in live performance. Robots and performance have long been linked, from the working androids and automata staged in popular exhibitions during the nineteenth century and the robots featured at Cybernetic Serendipity (1968) and the World Expo...

Effect of co-culture of Chinese shrimp ( Fenneropenaeus chinensis) and sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus Selenka) on pond environment

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Haibo; Gao, Qinfeng; Dong, Shuanglin; Sun, Yongjun; Wang, Fang

2016-10-01

Monoculture of sea cucumber (pond S) and polyculture of shrimp with sea cucumber (pond SS) were established to evaluate the effect of shrimp on the environmental conditions of sea cucumber farming pond. Contributions of sediment organic matter (SOM2) resuspended from benthic sediment and the suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM) deposited from the water column to the precipitated organic matter (SOM1) collected with sediment traps were estimated with carbon stable isotope analysis. The results showed that the levels of SPOM and SOM2 in pond SS significantly decreased in comparison with those in pond S at the end of experiment ( P sea cucumber farming pond could purify the farming water. Carbon stable isotope analysis showed that the proportion of SOM2 in SOM1 in pond SS (84.97% ± 0.38%) was significantly lower than that in pond S (95.20% ± 0.30%) ( P < 0.05), suggesting that the resuspension of organic matter from benthic sediment into overlying water was reduced in polyculture pond. In contrast, the proportion of SPOM in SOM1 in pond SS (15.03% ± 0.38%) was significantly higher than that in pond S (4.80% ± 0.30%) ( P < 0.05), indicating that the sedimentation of SPOM from water column was enhanced in pond SS owing to the biodeposition effect of shrimp.

Solenoid pick-up problem in the CREN-K Triga Mark 2 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malu wa Kalenga; Kobakozete Itono; Diazengwa Mpaka; Mampaka Mana Mouiny; Itio Momba

1981-01-01

During a lazy susan forty irradiation tube inspection with the specimen lifting device, the solenoid-operated specimen pick-up tool happened to be locked in the number fourteen position loading tube. The present paper describes the successful experiment which was carried out to solve a potential damaging situation for the safe and useful operation of the reactor. The first step in the investigation process was to ascertain what has indeed occurred in the reactor core to avoid any ill advised step which will worsen the situation. The alternatives were the following: a) The specimen tube was not lined with the loading tube; b) The lazy susan was not working properly due example to the fact that a roll pin in a drive shaft coupling inside the drive shaft tube has been broken; c) The pick-up tool has produced through the cleanout hole in the bottom of the specimen tube and engage the hole; d) The pick-up tool might have slided most of the way between the lazy susan and its housing. By moving up and down the pick-up tool and rotating back and forth the lazy susan it was possible to come to the conclusion that alternative c) was the most likely. It was not possible to release the pick-up tool because its engaging arms could not be activated as was often the case when lifting aluminium container

Solenoid pick-up problem in the CREN-K Triga Mark 2 reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malu wa Kalenga; Kobakozete Itono; Diazengwa Mpaka; Mampaka Mana Mouiny; Itio Momba (Commissariat des Sciences Nucleaires, Kinshasa (Zaire). Centre Regional d' Etudes Nucleaires)

1981-01-01

During a lazy susan forty irradiation tube inspection with the specimen lifting device, the solenoid-operated specimen pick-up tool happened to be locked in the number fourteen position loading tube. The present paper describes the successful experiment which was carried out to solve a potential damaging situation for the safe and useful operation of the reactor. The first step in the investigation process was to ascertain what has indeed occurred in the reactor core to avoid any ill advised step which will worsen the situation. The alternatives were the following: a) The specimen tube was not lined with the loading tube; b) The lazy susan was not working properly due example to the fact that a roll pin in a drive shaft coupling inside the drive shaft tube has been broken; c) The pick-up tool has produced through the cleanout hole in the bottom of the specimen tube and engage the hole; d) The pick-up tool might have slided most of the way between the lazy susan and its housing. By moving up and down the pick-up tool and rotating back and forth the lazy susan it was possible to come to the conclusion that alternative c) was the most likely. It was not possible to release the pick-up tool because its engaging arms could not be activated as was often the case when lifting aluminium container.

Control of the Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne spp. on Cucumber by a Liquid Bio-Formulation Containing Chitinolytic Bacteria, Chitin and Their Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woo Jong Ha

2014-06-01

Full Text Available A liquid bio-formulation containing chitinolytic bacteria, chitin and their products was assessed for its potential biological control against root-knot nematodes on cucumber. The bio-formulation was prepared by cultures of three chitinolytic bacteria, Chromobacterium sp. strain C-61, Lysobacter engymogenes and Serratia plymuthica in minimal medium supplemented with chitin. Under pot conditions, the bio-formulation showed better growth of cucumber plants, and less root galls and population density of Meloidogyne spp. than control media without the bio-formulation. In a greenhouse, 75-fold diluted bio-formulations were treated instead of water around cucumber plants through hoses for drip irrigation six times at 5-day intervals from the transplanting date. After 30 and 60 days, the treatment provided about 7% and 10% enhancement in the plant height and about 78% and 69% reduction in population density of Meloidogyne spp. in the rhizosphere, respectively. In addition, the experiments showed that the control effects occurred only in the soils contacted with the bio-formulation. Undiluted bio-formulations were drenched three times at 10-day intervals around cucumber plants severely infested with Meloidogyne spp. The treatment showed about 37% plant enhancement without dead plants compared with 37% death in the untreated control, and about 82% nematode reduction. These results suggest that the bio-formulation can be practically used to control the root-knot nematode on cucumber.

Effects of different microbes on fermenting feed for sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus)

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yan; Wang, Yingeng; Mai, Kangsen; Zhang, Zheng; Liao, Meijie; Rong, Xiaojun

2015-10-01

The effects of different microbes on fermenting feed for sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus) were compared to select the optimal fermentation strain in this study. Saccharomgces cerevisae, Candida utilis, Bacillus subtilis and Geotrichum candidum were independently added into the experimental compound feed, while only saline was mixed with the control feed. The fermentation treatments were inoculated with 10% seed solution under the condition of 25°C and 70% water content, which lasted for 5 days to elucidate the optimal microbe strain for fermenting effect. Physicochemical indexes and sensorial characteristics were measured per day during the fermentation. The indexes included dry matter recovery (DMR), crude protein (CP), the percentage of amino acid nitrogen to total nitrogen (AA-N/tN), the percentage of ammonia nitrogen to total nitrogen (NH3-N/tN), and the ratio of fermentation strains and vibrios to the total microbes, color, smell and viscosity. The results showed that DMR, CP and AA-N/tN of the S. cerevisae group reached the highest level on day 3, but the ratio of fermentation strain was second to C. utilis group. In addition, its NH3-N/tN and the ratio of vibrios were maintained at low levels, and the sensory evaluation score including smell, color and viscosity was the highest in S. cerevisae group on day 3. Therefore, S. cerevisae could be the optimal strain for the feed fermentation for sea cucumber. This research developed a new production method of fermentation feed for sea cucumber.

Silicon enhances leaf remobilization of iron in cucumber under limited iron conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pavlovic, Jelena; Samardzic, Jelena; Kostic, Ljiljana

2016-01-01

leaves and the subsequent retranslocation of Fe to young leaves of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plants growing under Fe-limiting conditions was investigated. METHODS: Iron ((57)Fe or naturally occurring isotopes) was measured in leaves at different positions on plants hydroponically growing with or without...

Population studies of echinoderms and growth and mortality of sea cucumbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebert, T.A.

1979-01-01

Progress is reported on the following studies: methods of collecting sea cucumbers; determination of growth rates of plates of the calcareous ring; use of growth parameters and a length-frequency distribution to estimate mortality and population turnover; movement of materials through the atoll ecosystem; and autoradiographic studies on spines of sea urchins

Habit Reversal as a Treatment for Chronic Skin Picking: A Pilot Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Ellen J.; Woods, Douglas W.; Twohig, Michael P.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of habit reversal (HR) to a wait-list control as a treatment for chronic skin picking in adults. Twenty-five adults with a chronic skin-picking problem were randomly assigned to a wait-list control or HR group. At pretreatment, posttreatment, and a 3-month follow-up, self-reported skin…

Influence of dietary probiotic Bacillus TC22 and Prebiotic fructooligosaccharide on growth, immune responses and disease resistance against Vibrio splendidus infection in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yancui; Mai, Kangsen; Xu, Wei; Zhang, Wenbing; Ai, Qinghui; Zhang, Yanjiao; Wang, Xiaojie; Liufu, Zhiguo

2011-09-01

The effects of probiotic Bacillus TC22 (isolated from intestine of infected sea cucumber) and prebiotic fructooligosaccharide (FOS) on growth, immunity and disease resistance in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus were studied. Six experimental diets were formulated with combinations of three levels of TC22 (0, 107 and 109 CFU g-1 diet) and two levels of FOS (0 and 0.5%) in a 3 × 2 factorial experiment. At the end of the 8-week feeding trial, animals were challenged by injecting Vibrio splendidus. The results revealed that the specific growth rates (SGR) of sea cucumbers were not affected by TC22 and FOS, or the interaction between TC22 and FOS ( P > 0.05). However, there were significant interactions between TC22 and FOS for immune response and disease resistance in sea cucumbers ( P 0.05). Therefore, further studies should examine the effects of combinations of other levels of FOS (> 0.5% or < 0.5%) and TC22 on the immunity and disease resistance of sea cucumbers.

A multi-objective approach to the assignment of stock keeping units to unidirectional picking lines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Le Roux, G. J.

2017-05-01

Full Text Available An order picking system in a distribution centre consisting of parallel unidirectional picking lines is considered. The objectives are to minimise the walking distance of the pickers, the largest volume of stock on a picking line over all picking lines, the number of small packages, and the total penalty incurred for late distributions. The problem is formulated as a multi-objective multiple knapsack problem that is not solvable in a realistic time. Population-based algorithms, including the artificial bee colony algorithm and the genetic algorithm, are also implemented. The results obtained from all algorithms indicate a substantial improvement on all objectives relative to historical assignments. The genetic algorithm delivers the best performance.

Modified Primers for the Identification of Nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Isolates That Have Biological Control Potential against Fusarium Wilt of Cucumber in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chaojen; Lin, Yisheng; Lin, Yinghong; Chung, Wenhsin

2013-01-01

Previous investigations demonstrated that Fusarium oxysporum (Fo), which is not pathogenic to cucumbers, could serve as a biological control agent for managing Fusarium wilt of cucumber caused by Fo f. sp. cucumerinum (Foc) in Taiwan. However, thus far it has not been possible to separate the populations of pathogenic Fo from the nonpathogenic isolates that have biological control potential through their morphological characteristics. Although these two populations can be distinguished from one another using a bioassay, the work is laborious and time-consuming. In this study, a fragment of the intergenic spacer (IGS) region of ribosomal DNA from an Fo biological control agent, Fo366, was PCR-amplified with published general primers, FIGS11/FIGS12 and sequenced. A new primer, NPIGS-R, which was designed based on the IGS sequence, was paired with the FIGS11 primer. These primers were then evaluated for their specificity to amplify DNA from nonpathogenic Fo isolates that have biological control potential. The results showed that the modified primer pair, FIGS11/NPIGS-R, amplified a 500-bp DNA fragment from five of seven nonpathogenic Fo isolates. These five Fo isolates delayed symptom development of cucumber Fusarium wilt in greenhouse bioassay tests. Seventy-seven Fo isolates were obtained from the soil and plant tissues and then subjected to amplification using the modified primer pair; six samples showed positive amplification. These six isolates did not cause symptoms on cucumber seedlings when grown in peat moss infested with the isolates and delayed disease development when the same plants were subsequently inoculated with a virulent isolate of Foc. Therefore, the modified primer pair may prove useful for the identification of Fo isolates that are nonpathogenic to cucumber which can potentially act as biocontrol agents for Fusarium wilt of cucumber. PMID:23762289

Is Ethics of Robotics about Robots? Philosophy of Robotics Beyond Realism and Individualilsm.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coeckelbergh, Mark

2011-01-01

If we are doing ethics of robotics, what exactly is the object of our inquiry? This paper challenges 'individualist' robot ontology and 'individualist' social philosophy of robots. It is argued that ethics of robotics should not study and evaluate robotics exclusively in terms of individual

75 FR 22423 - Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, Eastern and Western Division Proposed Project Use Power Rate

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-28

...: Reopening of comment period for review of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, Eastern and Western... reopening the comment period for the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, Eastern and Western Division... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, Eastern and...

75 FR 1408 - Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, Eastern and Western Division Proposed Project Use Power Rate

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-11

... of Proposed Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, Eastern and Western Divisions, Project Use Power Rate...) for Project Use Power for the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program (P-SMBP), Eastern and Western... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, Eastern and...

Effects of co-digestion of cucumber residues to corn stover and pig manure ratio on methane production in solid state anaerobic digestion.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yaya; Li, Guoxue; Chi, Menghao; Sun, Yanbo; Zhang, Jiaxing; Jiang, Shixu; Cui, Zongjun

2018-02-01

This study investigated the performance of co-digesting cucumber residues, corn stover, and pig manure at different ratios. Microbial community structure was analyzed to elucidate functional microorganism contributing to methane production during co-digestion. Results show that mixing cucumber residues with pig manure and corn stover could significantly improved methane yields 1.27-3.46 times higher than mono-feedstock. The methane yields decreased with the cucumber residues increasing when the pig manure ratio was fixed at 4 and 3, and was opposite at ratio 5. The optimal mixture ratio was T2 with the highest methane yield (305.4 mL/g VS) and co-digestion performance index (1.97). The main microbiological community in T2 was bacteria of Firmicutes (44.6%), Bacteroidetes (32.5%), Synergistetes (3.8%) and archaea of Methanosaeta (37.1%), Methanospirillum (18.2%). The mixture ratios changed the microbial community structures. The adding proportion of cucumber residues changed the community composition of the archaea, especially the proportion of Methanosaeta. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparative study of Alzheimer's disease and Pick's disease by CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichimiya, Yosuke; Kobayashi, Kazunari; Arai, Heii; Ikeda, Kenji; Kosaka, Kenji

1984-01-01

17 patients with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease, 11 patients with clinically diagnosed Pick's disease and 13 healthy age-matched subjects as the control were studied by computed tomography (CT). In order to study cerebral atrophy, volumetric measurement was performed. Subarachnoid Space Volume Index (SVI). Frontal, Temporal, and Parieto-Occipital Subarachnoid Space Volume Indices (SfVI, StVI, and SpoVI, respectively) as well as Ventricle Volume Index (VVI), The volume indices of anterior horn, inferior horn, and posterior horn of the lateral ventricles (VaVI, ViVI, and VpVI, respectively) were calculated as the indices for the atrophy of the cerebral cortex and white matter. Furthermore, to evaluate lobar atrophy, SfVI+VaVI (FA), StVI+ViVI (TA), and SpoVI+VpVI (POA) were defined as the indices of frontal lobe atrophy, temporal lobe atrophy, and parieto-occipital lobe atrophy respectively. In Alzheimer's patients, FA and POA were significantly large (p<0.001) in stage I group and TA was significantly enlarged (p<0.001) in stage II group. In Pick's patients, FA and TA were significantly large (FA : p<0.001, TA : p<0.01) in stage I group and POA became significantly prominent (p<0.001) in stage III group. Pick's patients showed significantly larger SfVI (p<0.2 in stage I group and p<0.001 in stage II group) and FA (p<0.01 in stage II group) than Alzheimer's patients. The results in this study give us the following suggestions; 1) Alzheimer's patients show a diffuse cerebral atrophy in the early stage. 2) Pick's patients have a localized atrophy of frontal and temporal lobes already in the early stage. 3) Compared with Alzheimer's patients, Pick's patients show significantly more severe atrophy in frontal lobe at the early stage. (J.P.N.)

Cucumber rhizosphere microbial community response to biocontrol agent Bacillus subtilis B068150

Science.gov (United States)

Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis B068150 has been used as a biocontrol agent against the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cucumerinum. However, their survival ability in cucumber rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere as well as their influence on native microbial communities has not been fully i...

Near-UV radiation acts as a beneficial factor for physiological responses in cucumber plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitani-Sano, Makiko; Tezuka, Takafumi

2013-11-05

Effects of near-UV radiation on the growth and physiological activity of cucumber plants were investigated morphologically, physiologically and biochemically using 3-week-old seedlings grown under polyvinyl chloride films featuring transmission either above 290 nm or above 400 nm in growth chambers. The hypocotyl length and leaf area of cucumber seedlings were reduced but the thickness of leaves was enhanced by near-UV radiation, due to increased upper/lower epidermis thickness, palisade parenchyma thickness and volume of palisade parenchyma cells. Photosynthetic and respiratory activities were also promoted by near-UV radiation, associated with general enhancement of physiological/biochemical responses. Particularly, metabolic activities in the photosynthetic system of chloroplasts and the respiratory system of mitochondria were analyzed under the conditions of visible light with and without near-UV radiation. For example, the activities of NAD(P)-dependent enzymes such as glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) in chloroplasts and isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH) in mitochondria were elevated, along with levels of pyridine nucleotides (nicotinamide coenzymes) [NAD(H) and NADP(H)] and activity of NAD kinase (NADP forming enzyme). Taken together, these data suggest that promotion of cucumber plant growth by near-UV radiation involves activation of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in plants. The findings of this research showed that near-UV radiation reaching the Earth's surface is a beneficial factor for plant growth. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effects of different fruit juices used as carbon source on cucumber ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Jane

2011-07-25

Jul 25, 2011 ... In this study, the effect of various commercial fruit juices (used as plant carbon source) was assessed on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cv. Liza at seedling stage under aseptic conditions. Seeds were germinated on ½MS medium (within 2-days) under dark conditions. They were sub-cultured on MS0 (MS.

A new distributional record for the sea cucumber Holothuria (Semperothuria) cinerascens (Brandt) from Goa coast

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Shirwaikar, P.; Parulekar, A.H.

Occurrence of sea cucumber, Holothuria (Semperothuria) cinerascens from intertidal region of Anjuna (Goa) along central west coast of India is reported. Notes on morphological characteristics are given...

Design, Sensing and Control of a Robotic Prosthetic Eye for Natural Eye Movement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. J. Gu

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Loss of an eye is a tragedy for a person, who may suffer psychologically and physically. This paper is concerned with the design, sensing and control of a robotic prosthetic eye that moves horizontally in synchronization with the movement of the natural eye. Two generations of robotic prosthetic eye models have been developed. The first generation model uses an external infrared sensor array mounted on the frame of a pair of eyeglasses to detect the natural eye movement and to feed the control system to drive the artificial eye to move with the natural eye. The second generation model removes the impractical usage of the eye glass frame and uses the human brain EOG (electro-ocular-graph signal picked up by electrodes placed on the sides of a person's temple to carry out the same eye movement detection and control tasks as mentioned above. Theoretical issues on sensor failure detection and recovery, and signal processing techniques used in sensor data fusion, are studied using statistical methods and artificial neural network based techniques. In addition, practical control system design and implementation using micro-controllers are studied and implemented to carry out the natural eye movement detection and artificial robotic eye control tasks. Simulation and experimental studies are performed, and the results are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the research project reported in this paper.

Validation of a method for the determination of 120 pesticide residues in apples and cucumbers by LC-MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramadan, Gouda; Al Jabir, Muna; Alabdulmalik, Najat; Mohammed, Ali

2016-05-01

Most countries have clearly defined regulations governing the use of pesticides in agricultural activity. The application of pesticides in agriculture usually leads to a residual amount of these pesticides on food products such as fruit and vegetables. The presence of pesticide residues on these foods destined for human consumption may pose food safety risks to consumers. To protect consumers, national authorities have established maximum limits for pesticide residues in foods. These limits can only be enforced if there are methods available to detect and monitor their concentrations in the applicable food products. To support the enforcement of this legislation, we have developed a multi-residue liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the analysis of 120 pesticide residues in apples and cucumbers which has been validated and implemented in the routine monitoring and surveillance programme for these pesticides. In this method, apple and cucumber samples are extracted using the QuEChERS method (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) and the extracts were analyzed directly by LC-MS/MS. The mean recoveries at three different concentrations of 0.01 µg/g , 0.05 µg/g, and 0.1 µg/g over the analytical range varied between 70 and 120%. The repeatability of the method expressed as %RSD was less than 20%. The limit of detection (LOD) of the method ranged between 0.0014 and 0.0110 µg/g for apples and between 0.0012 and 0.0075 µg/g for cucumbers. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 0.01 µg/g for apples and cucumbers. The method has been used for the analysis of over 600 apple and 550 cucumber samples over the past two years. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Exploratorium: Robots.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Judith, Ed.

2002-01-01

This issue of Exploratorium Magazine focuses on the topic robotics. It explains how to make a vibrating robotic bug and features articles on robots. Contents include: (1) "Where Robot Mice and Robot Men Run Round in Robot Towns" (Ray Bradbury); (2) "Robots at Work" (Jake Widman); (3) "Make a Vibrating Robotic Bug" (Modesto Tamez); (4) "The Robot…

Transcriptome Analysis and Discovery of Genes Involved in Immune Pathways from Coelomocytes of Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) after Vibrio splendidus Challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Qiong; Liao, Meijie; Wang, Yingeng; Li, Bin; Zhang, Zheng; Rong, Xiaojun; Chen, Guiping; Wang, Lan

2015-07-17

Vibrio splendidus is identified as one of the major pathogenic factors for the skin ulceration syndrome in sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus), which has vastly limited the development of the sea cucumber culture industry. In order to screen the immune genes involving Vibrio splendidus challenge in sea cucumber and explore the molecular mechanism of this process, the related transcriptome and gene expression profiling of resistant and susceptible biotypes of sea cucumber with Vibrio splendidus challenge were collected for analysis. A total of 319,455,942 trimmed reads were obtained, which were assembled into 186,658 contigs. After that, 89,891 representative contigs (without isoform) were clustered. The analysis of the gene expression profiling identified 358 differentially expression genes (DEGs) in the bacterial-resistant group, and 102 DEGs in the bacterial-susceptible group, compared with that in control group. According to the reported references and annotation information from BLAST, GO and KEGG, 30 putative bacterial-resistant genes and 19 putative bacterial-susceptible genes were identified from DEGs. The qRT-PCR results were consistent with the RNA-Seq results. Furthermore, many DGEs were involved in immune signaling related pathways, such as Endocytosis, Lysosome, MAPK, Chemokine and the ERBB signaling pathway.

Climate Change and Fruit-Picking Tourism: Impact and Adaptation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Liu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this work is to present phenology as a valid indicator and methodology for monitoring and assessing the impact of climate change on plant-based tourist activities. Fruit-picking has become a popular rural tourism activity worldwide. However, fruit maturity dates (FMD have been affected by climate change (CC, which has in turn profoundly affected fruit-picking tourism activities (FPTA. In this paper, phenological data on the FMD for 45 types of plants in 1980–2012, dates for more than 200 fruit-picking festivals, and data on monthly average air temperature in 1980–2013 were used to assess the impact of CC on FPTA by wavelet and correlation analyses. The findings indicated that the study area had been significantly affected by CC. Prevailing temperatures at one or three months prior have a decisive influence on FMD. Among the 11 plants directly related to FPTA, the FMD of four were significantly advanced, while 6-7 were significantly delayed owning to increased temperature. Of the 11 FPTA, only two had realized the impact of CC and had adjusted festival opening dates based on dynamic changes. However, a considerable number of festival activities remained fixed or scheduled on the weekends.

Warehouse order-picking process. Order-picker routing problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. V. Korobkov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This article continues “Warehouse order-picking process” cycle and describes order-picker routing sub-problem of a warehouse order-picking process. It draws analogies between the orderpickers’ routing problem and traveling salesman’s problem, shows differences between the standard problem statement of a traveling salesman and routing problem of warehouse orderpickers, and gives the particular Steiner’s problem statement of a traveling salesman.Warehouse layout with a typical order is represented by a graph, with some its vertices corresponding to mandatory order-picker’s visits and some other ones being noncompulsory. The paper describes an optimal Ratliff-Rosenthal algorithm to solve order-picker’s routing problem for the single-block warehouses, i.e. warehouses with only two crossing aisles, defines seven equivalent classes of partial routing sub-graphs and five transitions used to have an optimal routing sub-graph of a order-picker. An extension of optimal Ratliff-Rosenthal order-picker routing algorithm for multi-block warehouses is presented and also reasons for using the routing heuristics instead of exact optimal algorithms are given. The paper offers algorithmic description of the following seven routing heuristics: S-shaped, return, midpoint, largest gap, aisle-by-aisle, composite, and combined as well as modification of combined heuristics. The comparison of orderpicker routing heuristics for one- and two-block warehouses is to be described in the next article of the “Warehouse order-picking process” cycle.

The Measurement of Technical Efficiency and Effective Factors in Cucumber Greenhouse (Case Study: Eastern Azarbayjan Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Abdollahi

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to estimate technical efficiency of cucumber greenhouses in Eastern Azarbayjan. In economic literature, it means the ratio of maximum output to the inputs. The objective of this research was to determinate the effective factors influencing it's inefficiency. The method of determination of deterministic and stochastic technical efficiency is corrected ordinary least squares (COLS and maximum likelihood (ML respectively. The average of technical efficiency in province’s cucumber greenhouse is approximately about 57 and 93 percent for deterministic and stochastic frontier method respectively. Production types had positive influence on technical inefficiency whereas experience of manager have negative influence on technical inefficiency.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE AND HEAVY METALS CONTENTS OF THE DRIED SEA CUCUMBER Stichopus vastus FROM SALEMO ISLAND, INDONESIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdullah Rasyid

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The dried sea cucumber Stichopus vastus is one of the commercially species harvested in Indonesian waters. This study aims to highlight the nutritional value and heavy metals content of dried sea cucumber S. vastus. Proximate (moisture, ash, protein, fat and carbohydrate, mineral (sodium, calcium, potassium and iron and heavy metal (mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead were determined by standard method of AOAC, while phosphorous was determined by spectrophotometric method. Chondroitin sulphate was determined by UPLC method, glucosamine sulphate and vitamin (A, B1, B2 and E by HPLC method. Results show that protein was the major component in proximate analysis of dried sea cucumber S. vastus in the present study. The protein content was 38.70%. Moisture, ash, fat and carbohydrate content were 19.46%, 34.04%, 0.38% and 7.42% respectively. All vitamins and heavy metals examined in this study were not detected. The sodium content was 8054.36 mg/100 g higher than other minerals. Calcium, potassium, phosphorus and iron content were 2449.9 mg/100 g, 159.77 mg/100 g, 5085.2 mg/100 g and 520.8 mg/100 g respectively. Glucosamine sulphate content was found to be 2.429 g/100 g, whereas chondroitin sulphate was found to be 1.115 g/100 g. It can therefore, be concluded that the dried sea cucumber S. vastus from Salemo Island is safe for human consumption and hence can be used as a source of food supplement in the future. Keywords: food supplement, Salemo island, Stichopus vastus

Facile Template-Free Fabrication of the hollow sea cucumber-like TbF{sub 3} and luminescent properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao, Yu, E-mail: gaoy777@126.com [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 100142 (China); Shi, Shan; Fang, Qinghong; Yang, Feng [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 100142 (China); Xu, Zhenhe [College of Applied Chemistry, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 100142 (China)

2014-12-15

Graphical abstract: Hollow sea cucumber-like TbF{sub 3} has been prepared via a facile hydrothermal route. The possible growth mechanism and the luminescent properties of the as-prepared sample have been discussed. - Highlights: • TbF3 particles were prepared by a facile hydrothermal route. • TbF3 product show strong green emission. • This method may be more widely applicable in the design of other rare-earth compounds. - Abstract: Hollow sea cucumber-like TbF{sub 3} was successfully fabricated by a self-assembled hydrothermal method. The crystal structure, morphology and photoluminescence properties of the as-prepared TbF{sub 3} crystals were investigated. The results revealed that the as-prepared TbF{sub 3} sample has orthorhombic structure and composed of monodispersed 3D hollow sea cucumber-like particles. The possible formation mechanism for sea cucumber-like TbF{sub 3} is presented in detail. Additionally, the as-prepared sample possesses property of down-conversion photoluminescence. The excitation spectrum of TbF{sub 3} sample was obtained by monitoring the emission of Tb{sup 3+} at 545 nm was composed of the characteristics f–f transition lines within the Tb{sup 3+} 4f{sup 8} configuration. Under the UV light irradiation, the emission spectrum exhibited four obvious lines centered at 491, 545, 588, and 620 nm, which was corresponding to the {sup 5}D{sub 4} → {sup 7}F{sub J} (J = 6, 5, 4, 3) transitions of the Tb{sup 3+} ions in the TbF{sub 3} nanoparticles.

Benefits from Bio and organic fertilization by cucumber (Cucumis Sativus) with application of 15N stable isotope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galal, Y. G. M.; Soliman, S. M.; Ahmed, F. A.; El-Sherbiny, A. E. A.; Dahdouh, S. M.

2012-12-01

Benefits from bio and organic fertilizer were evaluated under cucumber (Cucumis Sativus) crop grown on sandy soil at a field scale. The experiment was conducted under drip irrigation system. Fertilization treatment indicated that the combination of 50% mineral fertilizer (MF) + 50% organic compost (OC) was superior over all other fertilization treatment when the fresh weight of cucumber biomass or fruits was considered. It means that half of the recommended dose of of mineral fertilizer is enough to meet the requirement of cucumber crop when supplemented with organic compost. Nitrogen derived from mineral fertilizer (Ndff) by cucumber at different plant growth stages was significantly affected by the rate of addition and enhanced with microbial inoculation. Arbuscular mycorrhizea (AMF) was superior over Azospirillum and Rhizobium inoculations. The enhancement of Ndff uptake by plants was more pronounced at the fruit stage than at vegetative, flowering and hay growth stages. The highest values of Ndfa were induced by Rhizobium at hay stage followed by fruit. Similar trend, but to different extents was noticed with AMF and Azospirillum inoculum s. Most of nitrogen derived from compost (Ndfc) was occurred by addition of 50% MF + 50% Oc. Rhizobium and AMF were more effective than Azospirilum. High quantities of Ndfc were recognized at hay stage compared to other growth stages.The efficient use of mineral fertilizer-N (%NUE) was increased by addition of half:half mineral and organic fertilizer. Similarly, it seems that microbial inoculation in general has a synergistic effect on enhancement of %NUE. Higher NUE occurred at hay growth stage than others. (Author)

The Roles of Two miRNAs in Regulating the Immune Response of Sea Cucumber.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Pengjuan; Li, Chenghua; Zhang, Ran; Zhang, Weiwei; Jin, Chunhua; Wang, Lingling; Song, Linsheng

2015-12-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key regulators in many pathological processes by suppressing the transcriptional and post-transcriptional expression of target genes. MiR-2008 was previously found to be significantly up-regulated in diseased sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus by high-through sequencing, whereas the reads of miR-137, a well-documented tumor repressor, displayed no significant change. In the present study, we found that miR-137 expression was slightly attenuated and miR-2008 was significantly enhanced after Vibrio splendidus infection or Lipopolysaccharides application. Further target screening and dual-luciferase reporter assay revealed that the two important miRNAs shared a common target gene of betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase (AjBHMT), which exhibited noncorrelated messenger RNA and protein expression patterns after bacterial challenge. In order to fully understand their regulatory mechanisms, we conducted the functional experiments in vitro and in vivo. The overexpression of miR-137 in sea cucumber or primary coelomocytes significantly decreased, whereas the inhibition of miR-137 increased the mRNA and protein expression levels of AjBHMT. In contrast, miR-2008 overexpression and inhibition showed no effect on AjBHMT mRNA levels, but the concentration of AjBHMT protein displayed significant changes both in vitro and in vivo. Consistently, the homocysteine (Hcy) contents were also accordingly altered in the aberrant expression analysis of both miRNAs, consistent with the results of the AjBHMT silencing assay in vitro and in vivo. More importantly, small interfering RNA mediated AjBHMT knockdown and Hcy exposure analyses both significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and decreased the number of surviving invasive pathogen in sea cucumber coelomocytes. Taken together, these findings confirmed the differential roles of sea cucumber miR-137 and miR-2008 in regulating the common target AjBHMT to promote ROS production

Effect of multiple freeze-thaw cycles on the quality of instant sea cucumber: Emphatically on water status of by LF-NMR and MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Mingqian; Lin, Zhuyi; Zu, Yinxue; Zhu, Beiwei; Cheng, Shasha

2018-07-01

Instant sea cucumber has become one popular product due to its convenience to eat, favourable taste and minimal loss of nutrients and bioactive components. However, there was rare information about the water dynamic of instant sea cucumber subjected to multiple freeze-thaw cycles. In this study, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and magnetic resonance image (MRI) were employed to investigate the effect of freeze-thaw cycles on water status of instant sea cucumber. Four water populations corresponding to strongly bound water, weakly bound water, immobile water and free water were observed in instant sea cucumber. With the increase of freeze-thaw cycles, the transverse relaxation time of immobile and free water increased, while the peak area of free water decreased significantly. MRI enabled the visualization of water migration of instant sea cucumber during multiple freeze-thaw cycles. Multiple freeze-thaw cycles also led to significant changes of other quality properties including thawing loss, WHC, color parameters, texture and protein content, and enlarge the interspace between fiber network in microstructure. Good correlations between T 22 , A 22 , A 23 and thaw loss, WHC, L*, hardness and collagen content (0.873 ≤ r ≤ 0.958) revealed LF-NMR may be an effective real-time monitoring method of these physicochemical parameters as a non-destructive technique. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nitrogen and phosphorus budget of a polyculture system of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus), jellyfish ( Rhopilema esculenta) and shrimp ( Fenneropenaeus chinensis)

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Junwei; Dong, Shuanglin; Gao, Qinfeng; Zhu, Changbo

2014-06-01

The nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) budget and the ecological efficiency of a polyculture system of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus), jellyfish ( Rhopilema esculenta) and shrimp ( Fenneropenaeus chinensis) were studied in a cofferdam, 120.2 ha in size. The nutrients were supplied by spring tide inflow. In total, 139600 kg N yr-1 and 9730 kg P yr-1 input to the system; while 118900 kg N yr-1 and 2840 kg P yr-1 outflowed from the system concurrently, thus the outflow was 85.7% (N) and 29.2% (P) of inflow. The production of N and P was 889.5 kg yr-1 and 49.28 kg yr-1 (sea cucumber) and 204 kg yr-1 and 18.03 kg yr-1 (jellyfish and shrimp), respectively. The utilization rate of N and P by polycultured animals was 7.8‰ and 6.9‰, respectively, 21.9% and 38% higher than that of monocultured sea cucumber. Our results indicated that the polyculture system was an efficient culture system of animals and a remediation system of coastal environment as well; it scavenged 14.3% and 70.8% of N and P, respectively. Such an ecological efficiency may be improved further by increasing either the stocking density or the size of sea cucumber or both.

Detection of interstellar pick-up hydrogen in the solar system

Science.gov (United States)

Gloeckler, G.; Geiss, J.; Balsiger, H.; Fisk, L. A.; Galvin, A. B.; Ipavich, F. M.; Ogilvie, K. W.; Von Steiger, R.; Wilken, B.

1993-01-01

Interstellar hydrogen ionized primarily by the solar wind has been detected by the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer instrument on the Ulysses spacecraft at a distance of 4.8 AUs from the sun. This 'pick-up' hydrogen is identified by its distinct velocity distribution function, which drops abruptly at twice the local solar wind speed. From the measured fluxes of pick-up protons and singly charged helium, the number densities of neutral hydrogen and helium in the distant regions of the solar system are estimated to be 0.077 +/- 0.015 and 0.013 +/- 0.003 per cu cm, respectively.

Fifteen Minutes of Fame? The Market Impact of Internet Stock Picks

OpenAIRE

Peter Antunovich; Asani Sarkar

2006-01-01

We examine 120 Nasdaq and Over-the-Counter "buy" recommendations made by Internet sites from April 1999 to June 2001. The stock picks show substantial short- and long-run price and liquidity gains, although no new information is revealed about them. For example, liquidity one year after the pick day remains higher for these stocks than for a sample matched according to size, book-to-market value, and liquidity in the preceding year. In addition, after controlling for fundamental and microstru...

Determination of Pesticides Residues in Cucumbers Grown in Greenhouse and the Effect of Some Procedures on Their Residues.

Science.gov (United States)

Leili, Mostafa; Pirmoghani, Amin; Samadi, Mohammad Taghi; Shokoohi, Reza; Roshanaei, Ghodratollah; Poormohammadi, Ali

2016-11-01

The objective of this study was to determine the residual concentrations of ethion and imidacloprid in cucumbers grown in greenhouse. The effect of some simple processing procedures on both ethion and imidacloprid residues were also studied. Ten active greenhouses that produce cucumber were randomly selected. Ethion and imidacloprid as the most widely used pesticides were measured in cucumber samples of studied greenhouses. Moreover, the effect of storing, washing, and peeling as simple processing procedures on both ethion and imidacloprid residues were investigated. One hour after pesticide application; the maximum residue levels (MRLs) of ethion and imidacloprid were higher than that of Codex standard level. One day after pesticide application, the levels of pesticides were decreased about 35 and 31% for ethion and imidacloprid, respectively, which still were higher than the MRL. Washing procedure led to about 51 and 42.5% loss in ethion and imidacloprid residues, respectively. Peeling procedure also led to highest loss of 93.4 and 63.7% in ethion and imidacloprid residues, respectively. The recovery for both target analytes was in the range between 88 and 102%. The residue values in collected samples one hour after pesticides application were higher than standard value. The storing, washing, and peeling procedures lead to the decrease of pesticide residues in greenhouse cucumbers. Among them, the peeling procedure has the greatest impact on residual reduction. Therefore, these procedures can be used as simple and effective processing techniques for reducing and removing pesticides from greenhouse products before their consumption.

Effects of Heat Shock on Photosynthetic Properties, Antioxidant Enzyme Activity, and Downy Mildew of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L..

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaotao Ding

Full Text Available Heat shock is considered an abiotic stress for plant growth, but the effects of heat shock on physiological responses of cucumber plant leaves with and without downy mildew disease are still not clear. In this study, cucumber seedlings were exposed to heat shock in greenhouses, and the responses of photosynthetic properties, carbohydrate metabolism, antioxidant enzyme activity, osmolytes, and disease severity index of leaves with or without the downy mildew disease were measured. Results showed that heat shock significantly decreased the net photosynthetic rate, actual photochemical efficiency, photochemical quenching coefficient, and starch content. Heat shock caused an increase in the stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, antioxidant enzyme activities, total soluble sugar content, sucrose content, soluble protein content and proline content for both healthy leaves and downy mildew infected leaves. These results demonstrate that heat shock activated the transpiration pathway to protect the photosystem from damage due to excess energy in cucumber leaves. Potential resistance mechanisms of plants exposed to heat stress may involve higher osmotic regulation capacity related to an increase of total accumulations of soluble sugar, proline and soluble protein, as well as higher antioxidant enzymes activity in stressed leaves. Heat shock reduced downy mildew disease severity index by more than 50%, and clearly alleviated downy mildew development in the greenhouses. These findings indicate that cucumber may have a complex physiological change to resist short-term heat shock, and suppress the development of the downy mildew disease.

Effect of shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei) farming waste on the growth, digestion, ammonium-nitrogen excretion of sea cucumber ( Stichopus monotuberculatus)

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yanfeng; Luo, Peng; Hu, Chaoqun; Ren, Chunhua

2015-06-01

In this study, specific growth rate (SGR), ingestion rate (IR), food conversion ratio (FCR), apparent digestion ratio (ADR) and ammonium-nitrogen excretion were determined for sea cucumber ( Stichopus monotuberculatus) reared in plastic containers (70 L; 4 containers each diet treatment). Sea cucumbers were fed with five diets containing different amounts of farming waste from shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei) (100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 0) and a formulated compound (20% sea mud and 80% powdered algae). Sea cucumbers grew faster when they were fed with diet D (25% shrimp waste and 75% formulated compound) than those fed with other diets. Although IR value of sea cucumber fed with diet A (shrimp waste) was higher than those fed with other diets, both the lowest SGR and the highest FCR occurred in this diet group. The highest and the lowest ADR occurred in diet E (formulated compound) and diet A group, respectively, and the same to ammonium-nitrogen excretion. The contents of crude protein, crude lipid and total organic matter (TOM) in feces decreased in comparison with corresponding diets. In the feces from different diet treatments, the contents of crude protein and TOM increased gradually as the contents of crude protein and TOM in diets increased, while crude lipid content decreased gradually as the crude lipid content in diets increased.

Effect of food on specific dynamic action (SDA) of green and red types of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus Selenka)

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Jie; Jiang, Hongbo; Dong, Shuanglin; Tian, Xiangli

2017-10-01

Specific dynamic action (SDA), the energy expended on all physiological processes that is associated with meal digestion and absorption, is strongly affected by food type. Effects of formulated diet (FMD), macroalgae (ALG) and sea mud (SMD) diets on the postprandial metabolic response of the green type and the red type of sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus) were studied in order to understand their feeding physiology. Food offered to A. japonicus was different in protein, lipid content and energy but not in meal mass. SDA of A. japonicus resulted in a 1.3-2.7 folds of increase in oxygen consumption that can persist for up to 4.8-31.7 h after digesting three different diets. In a given type of sea cucumber, the magnitude of SDA was the highest when fed with FMD, medium with ALG, and the lowest with SMD, which is probably due to the differences in diet components and protein contents. The red type sea cucumber showed greater SDA magnitude than the green type with each diet treatment, which might result from the difference in factorial scope between the two types of sea cucumber. However, the smallest magnitude or even no difference was observed between the two types of A. japonicus in SMD group, perhaps owing to the poor nutrition and digestion of sea mud.

Robotics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheide, A.W.

1983-01-01

This article reviews some of the technical areas and history associated with robotics, provides information relative to the formation of a Robotics Industry Committee within the Industry Applications Society (IAS), and describes how all activities relating to robotics will be coordinated within the IEEE. Industrial robots are being used for material handling, processes such as coating and arc welding, and some mechanical and electronics assembly. An industrial robot is defined as a programmable, multifunctional manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for a variety of tasks. The initial focus of the Robotics Industry Committee will be on the application of robotics systems to the various industries that are represented within the IAS

Regulation of growth, intestinal microbiota, non-specific immune response and disease resistance of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) in biofloc systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jinghua; Ren, Yichao; Li, Yuquan; Xia, Bin

2018-06-01

Bioflocs are not only a source of supplemental nutrition but also provide substantial probiotic bacteria and bioactive compounds, which play an important role in improving physiological health of aquatic organisms. A 60-day experiment was conducted to investigate the growth, intestinal microbiota, non-specific immune response and disease resistance of sea cucumber in biofloc systems with different carbon sources (glucose, sucrose and starch). Control (no biofloc) and three biofloc systems were set up, and each group has three replicates. The results showed that biofloc volume (BFV) and total suspended solids (TSS) increased in the sequences of glucose > sucrose > starch and green sea cucumber > white sea cucumber during the experiment. The highest specific growth rates (SGRs) were observed in biofloc system with glucose as carbon source, which also had relatively lower glucose, lactate and cortisol levels in coelomic fluid and higher glycogen content in muscle compared to other groups. There were significant increased Bacillus and Lactobacillus counts of sea cucumber intestine in biofloc systems, and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) also showed obvious ascending trends. Significant increases in total coelomocytes counts (TCC), phagocytosis, respiratory burst, complement C3 content and lysozyme (LSZ) and acid phosphatase (ACP) activities of sea cucumber were all found in biofloc system (glucose). The expression patterns of most immune-related genes (i.e. Hsp90, Hsp70, c-type lectin (CL), toll-like receptor (TLR)) were up-regulated, suggesting the promotion of pathogen recognition ability and immune signaling pathways activation by biofloc. Furthermore, green and white sea cucumber had significantly higher survival rates in biofloc systems during the 14-day challenge test. In conclusion, biofloc technology could improve growth and physiological health of A. japonicus, by optimizing intestinal

Analysis of Apoptosis in Ultraviolet-Induced Sea Cucumber (Stichopus japonicus) Melting Using Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl-Transferase-Mediated dUTP Nick End-Labeling Assay and Cleaved Caspase-3 Immunohistochemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jing-Feng; Gao, Rong-Chun; Wu, Hai-Tao; Li, Peng-Fei; Hu, Xian-Shu; Zhou, Da-Yong; Zhu, Bei-Wei; Su, Yi-Cheng

2015-11-04

The sea cucumber body wall melting phenomenon occurs under certain circumstances, and the mechanism of this phenomenon remains unclear. This study investigated the apoptosis in the ultraviolet (UV)-induced sea cucumber melting phenomenon. Fresh sea cucumbers (Stichopus japonicus) were exposed to UV radiation for half an hour at an intensity of 0.056 mW/cm(2) and then held at room temperature for melting development. The samples were histologically processed into formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. The apoptosis of samples was analyzed with the terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay and cleaved caspase-3 immunohistochemistry. The emergence of TUNEL-positive cells speeds up between 0.5 and 2 h after UV irradiation. Cleaved caspase-3 positive cells were obviously detected in sample tissues immediately after the UV irradiation. These results demonstrated that sea cucumber melting induced by UV irradiation was triggered by the activation of caspase-3 followed by DNA fragmentation in sea cucumber tissue, which was attributed to apoptosis but was not a consequence of autolysis activity.

A Semiautomated Multilayer Picking Algorithm for Ice-sheet Radar Echograms Applied to Ground-Based Near-Surface Data

Science.gov (United States)

Onana, Vincent De Paul; Koenig, Lora Suzanne; Ruth, Julia; Studinger, Michael; Harbeck, Jeremy P.

2014-01-01

Snow accumulation over an ice sheet is the sole mass input, making it a primary measurement for understanding the past, present, and future mass balance. Near-surface frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radars image isochronous firn layers recording accumulation histories. The Semiautomated Multilayer Picking Algorithm (SAMPA) was designed and developed to trace annual accumulation layers in polar firn from both airborne and ground-based radars. The SAMPA algorithm is based on the Radon transform (RT) computed by blocks and angular orientations over a radar echogram. For each echogram's block, the RT maps firn segmented-layer features into peaks, which are picked using amplitude and width threshold parameters of peaks. A backward RT is then computed for each corresponding block, mapping the peaks back into picked segmented-layers. The segmented layers are then connected and smoothed to achieve a final layer pick across the echogram. Once input parameters are trained, SAMPA operates autonomously and can process hundreds of kilometers of radar data picking more than 40 layers. SAMPA final pick results and layer numbering still require a cursory manual adjustment to correct noncontinuous picks, which are likely not annual, and to correct for inconsistency in layer numbering. Despite the manual effort to train and check SAMPA results, it is an efficient tool for picking multiple accumulation layers in polar firn, reducing time over manual digitizing efforts. The trackability of good detected layers is greater than 90%.

PICK1 regulates the trafficking of ASIC1a and acidotoxicity in a BAR domain lipid binding-dependent manner

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Wenying

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a is the major ASIC subunit determining acid-activated currents in brain neurons. Recent studies show that ASIC1a play critical roles in acid-induced cell toxicity. While these studies raise the importance of ASIC1a in diseases, mechanisms for ASIC1a trafficking are not well understood. Interestingly, ASIC1a interacts with PICK1 (protein interacting with C-kinase 1, an intracellular protein that regulates trafficking of several membrane proteins. However, whether PICK1 regulates ASIC1a surface expression remains unknown. Results Here, we show that PICK1 overexpression increases ASIC1a surface level. A BAR domain mutant of PICK1, which impairs its lipid binding capability, blocks this increase. Lipid binding of PICK1 is also required for PICK1-induced clustering of ASIC1a. Consistent with the effect on ASIC1a surface levels, PICK1 increases ASIC1a-mediated acidotoxicity and this effect requires both the PDZ and BAR domains of PICK1. Conclusions Taken together, our results indicate that PICK1 regulates trafficking and function of ASIC1a in a lipid binding-dependent manner.

Passive Magnetic Latching Mechanisms For Robotic Applications

KAUST Repository

Fiaz, Usman

2017-04-01

This thesis investigates the passive magnetic latching mechanism designs for autonomous aerial grasping and programmable self-assembly. The enormous latching potential of neodymium magnets is a well-established fact when it comes to their ability to interact with ferrous surfaces in particular. The force of attraction or repulsion among the magnets is strong enough to keep the levitation trains, and high speed transportation pods off the rails. But such utilization of these desirable magnetic properties in commercial applications, comes at a cost of high power consumption since the magnets used are usually electromagnets. On the other hand, we explore some useful robotic applications of passive (and hence low cost) magnetic latching; which are of vital importance in autonomous aerial transportation, automated drone-based package deliveries, and programmable self-assembly and self-reconfigurable systems. We propose, and implement a novel, attach/detach mechatronic mechanism, based on passive magnetic latching of permanent magnets for usBots; our indige- nously built programmable self-assembly robots, and show that it validates the game theoretic self-assembly algorithms. Another application addressed in this thesis is the utilization of permanent magnets in autonomous aerial grasping for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). We present a novel gripper design for ferrous objects with a passive magnetic pick up and an impulse based drop. For both the applications, we highlight the importance, simplicity and effectiveness of the proposed designs while providing a brief comparison with the other technologies out there.

Necessity and complexity of order picking routing optimisation based on pallet loading features

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bódis Tamás

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Order picking is the most labour-intensive and costly activity of warehouses. The main challenges of its improvement are the synchronisation of warehouse layout, storage assignment policy, routing, zoning, and batching. Furthermore, the competitiveness of the warehouse depends on how it adapts to the unique customer demands and product parameters and the changes. The operators usually have to manage the picking sequence based on best practices taking into consideration the product stacking factors and minimising the lead time. It is usually necessary to support the operators by making e ective decisions. Researchers of the pallet loading problem, bin packing problem, and order picking optimisation provide a wide horizon of solutions but their results are rarely synchronised.

Asynchronous meiosis in Cucumis hystrix-cucumber synthetic tetraploids resulting in low male fertility

Science.gov (United States)

Wide hybridization is an important tool for crop improvement. Recently, we successfully developed a synthetic allotetraploid from interspecific cross between cucumber and its relative Cucumis hystrix-(2n = 2x =24) followed by chemical induction of chromosome doubling. The resulting allotetraploid wa...

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seed performance as influenced by ovary and ovule position

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jing, H.C.; Jalink, H.; Bergervoet, J.W.; Klooster, M.; Du, S.L.; Bino, R.J.; Hilhorst, H.W.M.; Groot, S.P.C.

2000-01-01

The performance of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seeds in relation to ovary and ovule position was monitored during seed production. Seeds from three (first, seventh and tenth nodes) fruit positions and three (stylar, intermediate and peduncular) ovule positions were harvested serially during

Round fruit shape in WI7239 cucumber is controlled by two interacting quantitative trait loci with one putatively encoding a tomato SUN homolog

Science.gov (United States)

Fruit size and shape is an important quality trait in cucumber breeding, yet its genetic basis remains poorly understood. In the present study, we conducted QTL mapping on round fruit shape in cucumber with F2 and F2:3 segregating populations from the cross between WI7238 (long fruit) and WI7239 (ro...

Identification of differentially expressed genes in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) root under waterlogging stress by digital gene expression profile.

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Xiao-Hua; Xu, Xue-Wen; Lin, Xiao-Jian; Zhang, Wen-Jie; Chen, Xue-Hao

2012-03-01

High-throughput tag-sequencing (Tag-seq) analysis based on the Solexa Genome Analyzer platform was applied to analyze the gene expression profiling of cucumber plant at 5 time points over a 24h period of waterlogging treatment. Approximately 5.8 million total clean sequence tags per library were obtained with 143013 distinct clean tag sequences. Approximately 23.69%-29.61% of the distinct clean tags were mapped unambiguously to the unigene database, and 53.78%-60.66% of the distinct clean tags were mapped to the cucumber genome database. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes revealed that most of the genes were down-regulated in the waterlogging stages, and the differentially expressed genes mainly linked to carbon metabolism, photosynthesis, reactive oxygen species generation/scavenging, and hormone synthesis/signaling. Finally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction using nine genes independently verified the tag-mapped results. This present study reveals the comprehensive mechanisms of waterlogging-responsive transcription in cucumber. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Weighted gene co-expression network analysis reveals potential genes involved in early metamorphosis process in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yongxin; Kikuchi, Mani; Li, Xueyan; Gao, Qionghua; Xiong, Zijun; Ren, Yandong; Zhao, Ruoping; Mao, Bingyu; Kondo, Mariko; Irie, Naoki; Wang, Wen

2018-01-01

Sea cucumbers, one main class of Echinoderms, have a very fast and drastic metamorphosis process during their development. However, the molecular basis under this process remains largely unknown. Here we systematically examined the gene expression profiles of Japanese common sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) for the first time by RNA sequencing across 16 developmental time points from fertilized egg to juvenile stage. Based on the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we identified 21 modules. Among them, MEdarkmagenta was highly expressed and correlated with the early metamorphosis process from late auricularia to doliolaria larva. Furthermore, gene enrichment and differentially expressed gene analysis identified several genes in the module that may play key roles in the metamorphosis process. Our results not only provide a molecular basis for experimentally studying the development and morphological complexity of sea cucumber, but also lay a foundation for improving its emergence rate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Towards Versatile Robots Through Open Heterogeneous Modular Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyder, Andreas

arises, a new robot can be assembled rapidly from the existing modules, in contrast to conventional robots, which require a time consuming and expensive development process. In this thesis we define a modular robot to be a robot consisting of dynamically reconfigurable modules. The goal of this thesis......Robots are important tools in our everyday life. Both in industry and at the consumer level they serve the purpose of increasing our scope and extending our capabilities. Modular robots take the next step, allowing us to easily create and build various robots from a set of modules. If a problem...... is to increase the versatility and practical usability of modular robots by introducing new conceptual designs. Until now modular robots have been based on a pre-specified set of modules, and thus, their functionality is limited. We propose an open heterogeneous design concept, which allows a modular robot...