Search Results (163)

Biotechnological valorization of Flourensia cernua foliage was carried out using fungal solid-state fermentation; several outcomes of this bioprocess were identified which added value to the plant material. F. cernua leaves placed in aluminum trays were inoculated with Aspergillus niger; extracts of this plant were evaluated and the foliage was tested for in vitro digestibility. The solid bioprocess was carried out at 75% humidity for 120 h and after the fermentation, β-glucosidase activity; phenolics and in vitro digestibility were quantified and measured. Two high β-glucosidase production levels were detected at 42 and 84 h with 3192 and 4092 U/L, respectively. Several phenolics of industrial importance were detected with a HPLC-ESI-MS, such as glycosides of luteolin and apigenin. The other outcome was a substantial improvement in anaerobic digestibility. The unfermented sample registered a 30% in vitro degradability, whereas samples subjected to 84 h of fungal fermentation increased degradability by up to 51%. This bioprocess was designed to detect more than one product, which can contribute to an increase in the added value of F. cernua foliage. Full article

To address the issues of bulky structure and complex transmission systems in current transplanters, a compact, electric-driven automatic transplanter was designed. Using pepper plug seedlings as the test subject, this study investigated plug tray dimensions and planting patterns. According to the design requirement that the width of the single-row transplanter must be less than 62.5 cm, a three-dimensional transplanter model was constructed. The transplanter comprises a coaxially installed dual-layer seedling conveying device and a sector-expanding automatic seedling picking and depositing device. The structural dimensions, drive configurations, and driving forces of the transplanter were also determined. Finally, the circuit and pneumatic system were designed, and the transplanter was assembled. Both bench and field tests were conducted to select the optimal working parameters. The test results demonstrated that the seedling picking and depositing mechanism met the required operational efficiency. In static seedling picking and depositing tests, at three transplanting speeds of 120 plants/min, 160 plants/min, and 200 plants/min, the success rates of seedling picking and depositing were 100%, 100%, and 97.5%, respectively. In the field test, at three transplanting speeds of 80 plants/min, 100 plants/min, and 120 plants/min, the transplanting success rates were 94.17%, 90.83%, and 88.33%, respectively. These results illustrate that the compact, electric-driven seedling conveying and picking and depositing devices meet the operational demands of automatic transplanting, providing a reference for the miniaturization and electrification of transplanters. Full article

Insect pests remain a major threat to agricultural productivity, particularly in open-field cropping systems where conventional monitoring methods are labor-intensive and lack scalability. This study presents the design, implementation, and field evaluation of a neural network-guided smart trap specifically developed to monitor and selectively capture nocturnal insect pests under real agricultural conditions. The proposed trap integrates light and rain sensors, servo-controlled mechanical gates, and a single-layer perceptron neural network deployed on an ATmega-2560 microcontroller by Microchip Technology Inc. (Chandler, AZ, USA). The perceptron processes normalized sensor inputs to autonomously decide, in real time, whether to open or close the gate, thereby enhancing the selectivity of insect capture. The system features a removable tray containing a food-based attractant and yellow and green LEDs designed to lure target species such as moths and flies from the orders Lepidoptera and Diptera. Field trials were conducted between June and August 2023 in La Barca, Jalisco, Mexico, under diverse environmental conditions. Captured insects were analyzed and classified using the iNaturalist platform, with the successful identification of key pest species including Tetanolita floridiana, Synchlora spp., Estigmene acrea, Sphingomorpha chlorea, Gymnoscelis rufifasciata, and Musca domestica, while minimizing the capture of non-target organisms such as Carpophilus spp., Hexagenia limbata, and Chrysoperla spp. Statistical analysis using the Kruskal–Wallis test confirmed significant differences in capture rates across environmental conditions. The results highlight the potential of this low-cost device to improve pest monitoring accuracy, and lay the groundwork for the future integration of more advanced AI-based classification and species recognition systems targeting nocturnal Lepidoptera and other pest insects. Full article

Aiming at the unstable filling effect under high-speed operating conditions of the maize mechanical precision metering device, which easily causes the problem of leakage and multiple filling, a novel filling method was proposed to limit the number of seeds accumulation in front of the filling port by a composite seeding tray and improve the filling effect for single-seed. Meanwhile, a quantitative precision filling seed-metering device for maize was presented. The structural parameter design of the key components was completed, and the principle of improving the seed-filling effect was analyzed and elucidated. The optimal type of grooved teeth for the composite seeding tray was selected, and a Box–Behnken orthogonal optimization experiment was conducted using EDEM simulation. The high-speed seed-metering performance optimization results were validated through a platformed performance experiment. The results indicated that the seed-metering device had higher seed supply capacity, better seed-filling effect, and superior seed-metering performance under the type A grooved teeth condition. When the opening height of the seed barrier was 19.4 mm, the depth of the grooved teeth was 1.2 mm, and the operating speed was 10.7 km·h⁻¹, the seed-metering performance was optimal. The passing, repetitive, and miss rates were 95.1%, 1.6%, and 3.3%, respectively. When the operating speed was 8–14 km·h⁻¹, the passing rate of the seed-metering device was higher than 94.1%, the repetitive rate was lower than 2.3%, and the miss rate was lower than 3.7%. This work provides a reference for enhancing the seed-filling effect of mechanical precision metering devices under high-speed operating conditions. Full article

It is projected that the world population will quadruple over the next century, and to meet future food demands, agricultural production will need to increase by 70%. Therefore, there has been a transition from traditional farming methods to autonomous modern agriculture. One such modern technique is aeroponic farming, in which plants are grown without soil under controlled and hygienic conditions. In aeroponic farming, plants are significantly less affected by climatic conditions, infectious diseases, and biotic and abiotic stresses, such as pest infestations. Additionally, this method can reduce water, nutrient, and pesticide usage by 98%, 60%, and 100%, respectively, while increasing the yield by 45–75% compared to traditional farming. In this study, a three-dimensional industrial design of an innovative aeroponic plant growth chamber was presented for use by individuals, researchers, and professional growers. The proposed chamber design is modular and open to further innovation. Unlike existing chambers, it includes load cells that enable real-time monitoring of the fresh weight of the plant. Furthermore, cameras were integrated into the chamber to track plant growth and changes over time and weight. Additionally, RGB power LEDs were placed on the inner ceiling of the chamber to provide an optimal lighting intensity and spectrum based on the cultivated plant species. A customizable chamber design was introduced, allowing users to determine the growing tray and nutrient nozzles according to the type and quantity of plants. Finally, system models were developed for temperature control of the chamber. Temperature control was implemented using a proportional-integral-derivative controller optimized with particle swarm optimization, radial movement optimization, differential evolution, and mayfly optimization algorithms for the gain parameters. The simulation results indicate that the temperatures of the growing and feeding chambers in the cabinet reached a steady state within 260 s, with an offset error of no more than 0.5 °C. This result demonstrates the accuracy of the derived model and the effectiveness of the optimized controllers. Full article

The pick-up gripper, as a core component of automatic transplanting systems, presents challenges in reliably grasping seedlings. In this study, a large-opening flexible seedling pick-up gripper was designed based on standard trays and seedling characteristics. Structural design and force analysis of the grasping mechanism were conducted to develop a functional prototype. As this represented the first prototype of this new gripper, multi-factor orthogonal tests and performance tests under local conditions were performed to evaluate its grasping effectiveness. It was found that the end diameter of the pick-up pin and the extraction speed for lifting plug seedlings vertically had the most significant effects, followed by the penetration depth and grasping force. The optimum grasping effectiveness was achieved when the end diameter of the pick-up pin was 1.2 mm, the penetration depth in the top straight line of the pick-up pin was 40 mm, the grasping force for squeezing root lumps was 0.4 MPa, and the extraction speed for lifting plug seedlings in a vertical direction was 900 mm/s. For typical vegetable seedlings, the average success rate in transplanting was up to 95%. Under the combined actions of penetrating, squeezing, and extracting operations, plug seedlings could be efficiently picked out for efficient transplanting. Full article

The recycling of post-consumer plastics for food-contact applications is subject to stringent regulatory requirements, particularly with regard to the removal of potentially harmful non-intentionally added substances (NIAS). While polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling processes are already approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), there is a lack of guidance for other polymers like polystyrene (PS). This study aims to provide a scientific basis for assessing the decontamination efficiency required for recycled post-consumer PS in food-contact applications. As one of the first studies to propose a framework for PS decontamination assessment based on EFSA food-consumption data and conservative diffusion modeling, it contributes to filling this regulatory gap. First, European food-consumption data were analyzed to identify critical scenarios of the age-group-dependent intake of PS-packaged food. Based on this, a conservative migration model was applied using a one-dimensional diffusion simulation to determine the maximum allowable initial concentrations of NIAS in PS. The calculated values were then compared with published reference contamination levels to calculate the required cleaning efficiency. The combination of food-consumption values and the migration process showed that trays for fruits and vegetables are the most critical food-contact application for post-consumer PS recycling. The most stringent assumptions resulted in necessary decontamination efficiencies ranging from 92% for the smallest molecule, toluene (92.14 g/mol), to 42% for the largest molecule, methyl stearate (298.50 g/mol). The results provide a methodological basis for regulatory assessments and offer practical guidance for designing safe recycling processes, thereby supporting the circular use of PS in food packaging and building the basis for future regulatory assessments of other polymers, in line with the European Union Plastics Strategy and circular economy objectives. Full article

Perforated materials are widely used in various fields, including in medicine, for example, in trays for placing and storing cutting tools and for sterilizing disposable materials. Currently, the effective elastic modulus of orthopedic plates is higher than the effective elastic modulus of human bone tissue (the effective elastic modulus of bone ranges between 10 and 30 GPa, depending on the type of bone). This difference in effective elastic modulus leads to the phenomenon known as the stress shielding effect, where the bone experiences insufficient mechanical loading. One potential approach to influence the effective elastic modulus of orthopedic plates is through perforations in their design. Stainless steel 316L has garnered significant interest among medical engineering specialists due to its lower weight, higher strength, and superior biocompatibility. The elastic properties of perforated constructions are influenced by their internal quality, dimensions, shapes, and the overall perforation area, making their study important. An experiment was conducted on perforated plates of 316L stainless steel with perforation areas ranging from 3% to 20%. Increasing the perforation area in perforated 316L stainless steel plates (perforated plates had dimensions of 50 mm in height, 20 mm in width, and 1 mm in thickness; hole diameter of 1 mm; and pitch between the holes of 2, 3, 4, and 5 mm) from 3% to 20% resulted in a decrease in Young’s modulus of the perforated plates from 199 GPa to 147.8 GPa, determined using a non-destructive method for determining resonant frequencies using a laser vibrometer. A three-point bending test on the perforated plates confirmed these findings, demonstrating a consistent trend of decreasing Young’s modulus with increasing perforation area, from 194.4 GPa at 3.14% to 142.6 GPa at 19.63%. The three-point bending method was also employed in this study to determine the Young’s modulus of the perforated plates in order to reinforce the obtained results on the elastic properties by determining the resonance frequencies with a laser vibrometer. It was discovered that the Young’s modulus of a perforated plate cannot be determined solely by the perforation area, as it depends on both the perforation diameter and the pitch between the perforations. In addition, finite element method (FEM) simulations were conducted, revealing that increasing perforation diameter and decreasing pitch significantly reduce the Young’s modulus—with values dropping from 201.5 GPa to 72.6 GPa across various configurations. Full article

Objectives: This study investigated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the design of lingual bracket indirect bonding trays and its association with bracket transfer accuracy using three-dimensional (3D) printing. Methods: Digital impressions of patient’s dental arches were captured using an intraoral scanner, and orthodontic setups were virtually constructed. Brackets were virtually positioned in their ideal locations using the digital setups guided by virtual archwire templates. Indirect bonding trays were automatically generated using the AI-powered Auto Creation function of the Medit Splints application, which analyzes anatomical features to streamline design. Bracket transfer accuracy was evaluated in vivo by comparing planned and actual bracket positions across grouped and individual tray configurations. Linear and angular deviations were measured using conventional 3D inspection software. Results: Most bracket transfer errors were within clinically acceptable thresholds, although torque accuracy remained suboptimal. Grouped trays generally exhibited greater precision than individual trays in several dimensions. Conclusions: These findings support the application of AI-assisted design tools to enhance digital workflows and improve consistency in appliance fabrication. Full article

This Technical Note presents the design and implementation of a low-cost modular growth chamber developed to keep mother plants under controlled environmental conditions for vegetative propagation. The system was conceived as an accessible alternative to expensive commercial equipment, offering reproducibility and adaptability for small-scale and research-based cultivation. The proposed chamber integrates thermal insulation, LED lighting, forced ventilation through the implementation of extractors, a recirculating irrigation system with double filtration, and a sensor-based environmental monitoring platform operated via an Arduino UNO microcontroller. The design features a removable tray that serves as a support for the mother plant, an observation window covered by a movable dark acrylic that prevents the passage of external light, and a vertical structure that facilitates optimal space utilization and ergonomic access. Functionality was conducted using a Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni mother plant maintained for 30 days under monitored conditions. Environmental parameters—temperature, relative humidity, and illuminance—were recorded continuously. The plant showed vegetative development through new shoot emergence and the growth in height of the plant, and despite a loss in foliage expansion, it confirmed the chamber’s capacity to support sustained growth. Although no statistical replication or control group was included in this preliminary evaluation, the system demonstrates technical feasibility and practical utility. This chamber provides a replicable platform for future experimentation and propagation studies. Complete technical specifications, schematics, and component lists are provided to enable replication and further development by other researchers. The growth chamber design aligns with the goals of open-source agricultural innovation and supports knowledge transfer in controlled-environment plant propagation technologies. Full article

In the process of plug seedling transplantation, the cracking and dropping of seedling substrate or the damage of seedling stems and leaves will affect the survival rate of seedlings after transplantation. Currently, most research focuses on the reduction of substrate loss, while ignoring damage to the hole tray seedling itself. Targeting the problem of high damage rate during transplantation of plug seedlings, we have proposed an adaptive grasp method based on machine vision and deep learning, and designed a lightweight real-time grasp detection network (LRGN). The lightweight network Mobilenet is used as the feature extraction network to reduce the number of parameters of the network. Meanwhile, a dilated refinement module (DRM) is designed to increase the receptive field effectively and capture more contextual information. Further, a pixel-attention-guided fusion module (PAG) and a depth-guided fusion module (DGFM) are proposed to effectively fuse deep and shallow features to extract multi-scale information. Lastly, a mixed attention module (MAM) is proposed to enhance the network’s attention to important grasp features. The experimental results show that the proposed network can reach 98.96% and 98.30% accuracy of grasp detection for the image splitting and object splitting subsets of the Cornell dataset, respectively. The accuracy of grasp detection for the plug seedling grasp dataset is up to 98.83%, and the speed of image detection is up to 113 images/sec, with the number of parameters only 12.67 M. Compared with the comparison network, the proposed network not only has a smaller computational volume and number of parameters, but also significantly improves the accuracy and speed of grasp detection, and the generated grasp results can effectively avoid seedlings, reduce the damage rate in the grasp phase of the plug seedlings, and realize a low-damage grasp, which provides the theoretical basis and method for low-damage transplantation mechanical equipment. Full article

Cassava is an essential staple crop in developing nations, ensuring food security and generating income for smallholder farmers. The lack of modern drying technology in rural regions requires effective strategies to reduce post-harvest losses and improve product quality. This study introduces a biomass-powered cabinet dryer designed to produce high-quality cassava flour (HQCF), featuring a heat exchanger, blower, and drying chamber constructed from locally sourced materials. The drying chamber contains two racks, each equipped with 10 trays, accommodating 40 to 80 kg of wet cassava mash per batch. The dryer, operating at temperatures between 50 and 115 °C for a duration of 10–120 min, decreased moisture content from 38.21% to around 11%. Drying efficiencies varied from 59.22% to 88.24%, whereas biomass efficiencies ranged from 3.0% to 4.0%. The results demonstrate the dryer’s efficiency in drying, while the study emphasizes the necessity of customized technical solutions to assist rural populations in cassava-producing areas. Full article

Kagome lattices have attracted significant research interest due to their unique interplay of geometry, topology, and material properties. They provide deep insights into strongly correlated electron systems, novel quantum phases, and advanced material designs, making them fundamental in condensed matter physics and material engineering. This work presents an efficient method for terahertz (THz) wave generation across the entire THz spectrum, leveraging high-quality-factor Kagome-shaped silicon photonic crystal resonators. In the proposed simulation-based approach, an infrared (IR) single-frequency wave interacts with an induced resonance mode within the resonator, producing a THz beat frequency. This beat note is then converted into a standalone THz radiation (T-ray) wave using an amplitude demodulator. Simulations confirm the feasibility of our method, demonstrating that a conventional single-frequency wave can induce resonance and generate a stable beat frequency. The proposed technique is highly versatile, extending beyond THz generation to frequency conversion in electronics, optics, and acoustics, among other domains. Its high efficiency, compact design, and broad applicability offer a promising solution to challenges in THz technology. Furthermore, our findings establish a foundation for precise frequency manipulation, unlocking new possibilities in signal processing, sensing, detection, and communication systems. Full article

This study presents the development and evaluation of a microwave-assisted prototype for scalable red palm oil production. The prototype, equipped with industrial magnetrons delivering a combined power of 2 kW, is designed to process up to 6 kg of oil palm fruit per batch. The design, optimized using COMSOL Multiphysics simulations, focused on waveguide configurations and cavity dimensions to ensure uniform energy distribution and minimize hotspots. Performance testing validated the system’s capability to deliver consistent heating across six trays and produce high-quality red palm oil. Results demonstrated a significant reduction in free fatty acid (FFA) content from 20.4% to 2.1% while retaining carotene content within the industrial standard range (558.2 ppm). The Deterioration of Bleachability Index (DOBI) showed a slight reduction but remained within acceptable limits, underscoring the prototype’s ability to maintain oil clarity and processability. Microwave heating effectively inactivated lipase enzymes, reducing FFA and enhancing oil stability, as confirmed by previous studies. The chemical-free process preserved essential nutrients, aligning with sustainability goals. This innovative system provides a scalable, energy-efficient solution for community and industrial applications, offering improved product quality with minimal environmental impact. Future work will focus on optimizing the system further and exploring its applications in broader agricultural processing contexts. Full article

In modern agriculture, reducing the internal moisture content of crop seeds is essential to enhance the activity and mobility of seed oil molecules, thereby increasing oil yield while minimizing the risk of mold and deterioration. However, traditional drying methods often result in uneven heating, leading to seed scorching and diminished drying efficiency and economic returns. To address these limitations, this study proposes a novel thin-layer seed drying system incorporating a redesigned drying tray structure. Specifically, the system places the seed-bearing tray beneath a vibration module operating at a predetermined frequency. The vibration mechanism induces the uniform motion of the seeds, thereby preventing localized overheating (scalding) and enabling automatic weighing for the real-time monitoring of moisture reduction during the drying process. The advancement of wireless sensor technologies in agriculture has enabled the deployment of more refined, large-scale monitoring networks. In this work, a commercial chip-based piezoelectric vibration detection device was integrated into the experimental setup to collect time-domain response signals resulting from interactions among seeds, impurities, and the drying tray. These signals were used to construct a comprehensive database of seed collision signatures. To mitigate discontinuities in signal transmission caused by vibration and potential equipment failure, the shortest routing protocol (SRP) was implemented. Additionally, the system outage probability (OP) and a refined closed-form solution for signal transmission reliability were derived under a Rayleigh fading channel model. To validate the proposed method, a series of experiments were conducted to determine the optimal vibration frequencies for various seed types. The results demonstrated a reduction in seed scalding rate to 1.5%, a decrease in seed loss rate to 0.4%, and an increase in moisture monitoring accuracy to 97.0%. Compared to traditional drying approaches, the vibrating drying tray substantially reduced seed loss and effectively distinguished between seeds and impurities. Furthermore, the approach shows strong potential for broader applications in seed classification and moisture detection across different crop types. Full article