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This work focuses on identifying the applications, critical challenges and future opportunities of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in solar photovoltaics (PV) inspection. This paper places emphasis on aspects that require more research attention and depth that are mostly overlooked in most published research works. It therefore presents a state-of-the-art overview on the current use of autonomous UAV systems in solar photovoltaics, highlighting its major challenges and untapped potentials requiring more research. Major challenges and opportunities are identified within recent non-conventional large rooftop systems, floating and vertical solar PV systems where autonomous inspection applications are required starting from the pre-construction stage and where the requirements vary from standard ground mount systems. This is largely because autonomous systems are found to be more impactful in demanding environments. Aside from the technical aspects related to autonomous navigation, the types of sensors required and solar PV monitoring, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and safe autonomy are also examined by using on-board backup/monitoring systems to assist with navigation and emergency landing. This is essential due to the nature of the application within complex-urban environments. It is considered that the “open research” areas will deepen regional impact, efficiency, accessibility and use of autonomous UAV inspection for solar PV and inspection activities in other sectors. Thus, enabling enormous transformation for both manned and autonomous inspection landscapes. This work therefore provides technical input on the current procedures applied, identifies the challenges, and provides recommendations on aspects where significant future progress would be most advantageous.

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Biology is the property of Instituto Internacional de Ecologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Biology is the property of Instituto Internacional de Ecologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Mikania glomerata Spengal extract contains approximately 0.5 percent of coumarin, a substance that displays anti-inflammatory and expectoratory activities. Extracts from different young leaves of plants collected during the early evening of December and July contained the highest levels coumarin. Plants dried in oven with circulating air contained 7.3 mg of coumarin/g of dry weight, demonstrating that this was the most appropriate drying condition for Mikania glomerata [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

OBJETIVOS: Atualizar os principais aspectos relacionados ao quadro clínico e ao diagnóstico do transtorno de estresse pós-traumático (TEPT), assim como discutir sua validade como entidade nosológica e sua comorbidade. MÉTODOS: Descrição da sintomatologia clínica, detendo-se em seu significado fenomenológico, e revisão da literatura sobre comorbidade e validação diagnóstica. RESULTADOS: O TEPT tem sua apresentação clínica dividida em três grupos sintomatológicos relacionados à reexperiência traumática, ao comportamento de esquiva e distanciamento emocional e à hiperexcitabilidade psíquica. A estruturação diagnóstica do TEPT, especialmente a validade do constructo, vem sendo confirmada por evidências crescentes oriundas de estudos de natureza epidemiológica e neurobiológica. A prevalência de transtornos co-mórbidos próxima a 80% desperta a atenção sobre a maneira em que é conceituado o diagnóstico. Questiona-se se a imprecisão descritiva dos critérios diagnósticos, permitindo a sobreposição de sintomas de outros transtornos, não estaria contribuindo para uma superestimação da prevalência co-mórbida. CONCLUSÃO: O TEPT é considerado válido como diagnóstico, reconhecendo e legitimando a condição clínica, não necessariamente temporária, derivada essencialmente do trauma psicológico.

Brasília é uma cultivar de cenoura com possibilidade de produção de raízes em áreas e épocas de elevada temperatura. A produção de suas sementes ainda requer pesquisa quanto ao estímulo artificial ao florescimento e população de plantas. Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, o estudo desses fatores, no método semente-semente, da cultivar Brasília, em São Manuel, SP. Foram conduzidos dois experimentos, com e sem aplicação de ácido giberélico. As populações foram 25.000, 50.000, 100.000, 200.000 e 400.000 plantas ha-1. As sementes foram separadas de acordo com a origem de sua coleta, constituindo dois grupos: sementes de umbelas de primeira e segunda ordem (colheita selecionada) e sementes de todas as umbelas da parcela útil (colheita geral). Após cada colheita foram realizados análises de pureza física, testes de germinação e de vigor (emergência de plântulas em campo e envelhecimento acelerado), avaliações do peso de mil sementes e do teor de água. Houve florescimento e produção de sementes, mesmo sem a aplicação do ácido giberélico. De modo geral, as sementes de colheita selecionada apresentaram qualidade superior às de colheita geral, com diferenças de germinação de até 16%. O aumento da população de plantas, até 200.000 plantas ha-1, não diminuiu a qualidade das sementes.

Uma proposta em estudo para minimizar as perdas pós-colheita, é o uso de revestimentos derivados da fécula de mandioca. Frutos de pimentão (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivar Magali, foram mergulhados (1 minuto) em suspensões a 1 e 3% de fécula geleificada, secos naturalmente ao ar e armazenados em condições ambientais onde a temperatura média do período variou de 20,2-21,8°C. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado com 3 tratamentos, 6 repetições e 5 frutos por parcela. As análises de controle (perda de massa e alteração da coloração), foram feitas a cada dois dias por um período de 10 dias. Os frutos com película a 3%, apresentaram inibição no desenvolvimento da coloração vermelha; porém não houve efeito sobre a perda de massa.

Abstract Background Despite the continuous production of genome sequence for a number of organisms, reliable, comprehensive, and cost effective gene prediction remains problematic. This is particularly true for genomes for which there is not a large collection of known gene sequences, such as the recently published chicken genome. We used the chicken sequence to test comparative and homology-based gene-finding methods followed by experimental validation as an effective genome annotation method. Results We performed experimental evaluation by RT-PCR of three different computational gene finders, Ensembl, SGP2 and TWINSCAN, applied to the chicken genome. A Venn diagram was computed and each component of it was evaluated. The results showed that de novo comparative methods can identify up to about 700 chicken genes with no previous evidence of expression, and can correctly extend about 40% of homology-based predictions at the 5' end. Conclusions De novo comparative gene prediction followed by experimental verification is effective at enhancing the annotation of the newly sequenced genomes provided by standard homology-based methods.

Purpose: Obesity is a risk factor for chronic venous disease (CVD) of the lower limbs (LL), affecting venous anatomy and physiology. Weight loss after bariatric surgery (BS) can reduce intra-abdominal pressure, improve mobility, and ultimately improve venous hemodynamics and CVD-related symptoms. There are no studies in the literature that adequately assess the effect of the obesity and BS on the LL veins, especially the saphenous veins (SV). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of obesity and BS on the saphenous veins., Methods: This is a longitudinal prospective study carried out from 2019 to 2021 with 19 patients, totaling 38 LL, underwent clinical evaluation (CEAP Classification) and by Doppler ultrasonography, to analyze their SV diameter and reflux measurements, in the preoperative period and again 6 months to 2 years after BS being performed., Results: There was no statistical difference between the groups regarding the characteristics of reflux in the SV among the evaluated LL. There was no significant increase in the diameter of the great SV in the majority of its segments. The groups were similar in terms of the small SV diameters. Moreover, a significant reduction in the clinical class of CEAP was observed after BS., Conclusion: Obesity and bariatric surgery had no influence on diameter or reflux in saphenous veins, but a reduction in the CEAP Clinical Classification was observed in the postoperative period., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Numerous scaffold-level sequences for wheat are now being released and, in this context, we report on a strategy for improving the overall assembly to a level comparable to that of the human genome., Results: Using chromosome 7A of wheat as a model, sequence-finished megabase-scale sections of this chromosome were established by combining a new independent assembly using a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based physical map, BAC pool paired-end sequencing, chromosome-arm-specific mate-pair sequencing and Bionano optical mapping with the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium RefSeq v1.0 sequence and its underlying raw data. The combined assembly results in 18 super-scaffolds across the chromosome. The value of finished genome regions is demonstrated for two approximately 2.5 Mb regions associated with yield and the grain quality phenotype of fructan carbohydrate grain levels. In addition, the 50 Mb centromere region analysis incorporates cytological data highlighting the importance of non-sequence data in the assembly of this complex genome region., Conclusions: Sufficient genome sequence information is shown to now be available for the wheat community to produce sequence-finished releases of each chromosome of the reference genome. The high-level completion identified that an array of seven fructosyl transferase genes underpins grain quality and that yield attributes are affected by five F-box-only-protein-ubiquitin ligase domain and four root-specific lipid transfer domain genes. The completed sequence also includes the centromere.

Background: Genomic studies of endangered species provide insights into their evolution and demographic history, reveal patterns of genomic erosion that might limit their viability, and offer tools for their effective conservation. The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is the most endangered felid and a unique example of a species on the brink of extinction., Results: We generate the first annotated draft of the Iberian lynx genome and carry out genome-based analyses of lynx demography, evolution, and population genetics. We identify a series of severe population bottlenecks in the history of the Iberian lynx that predate its known demographic decline during the 20th century and have greatly impacted its genome evolution. We observe drastically reduced rates of weak-to-strong substitutions associated with GC-biased gene conversion and increased rates of fixation of transposable elements. We also find multiple signatures of genetic erosion in the two remnant Iberian lynx populations, including a high frequency of potentially deleterious variants and substitutions, as well as the lowest genome-wide genetic diversity reported so far in any species., Conclusions: The genomic features observed in the Iberian lynx genome may hamper short- and long-term viability through reduced fitness and adaptive potential. The knowledge and resources developed in this study will boost the research on felid evolution and conservation genomics and will benefit the ongoing conservation and management of this emblematic species.