Advances in mechanical weed control technologies

Mechanical weed control can be grouped into three categories: full-width cultivators, inter-row cultivators and intra-row cultivators. This chapter will highlight the most recent and relevant advances within each category. The focus will be on novel inventions and developments of mechanical devices, designs, and the weed problems they are meant to solve. Moreover, automation technologies that assist weeding operations are becoming increasingly important and will be given special attention.

A Review of Ventilation and Environmental Control of Underground Spaces

Because of rapid urbanization, traffic problems, and other factors, underground spaces have been used more in the twenty-first century. Large underground spaces are required for underground city, metro, tunnel, mine, industrial and agricultural engineering, and civil air defense engineering. Underground spaces with varying thermal, ventilation, and lighting environments can face problems of comfort, health, and safety. High temperatures, high humidity, difficulty in flue gas emission, harmful microorganisms, radon, and physical and psychological problems are examples of issues. Air quality control technologies for underground spaces, such as ventilation, dehumidification, natural energy utilization, smoke extraction, and ventilation resistance reduction, are discussed. Ventilation for smoke-proofing/evacuation is also extensively addressed.

Sustainable Approach to Weed Management: The Role of Precision Weed Management

In the last few decades, the increase in the world’s population has created a need to produce more food, generating, consequently, greater pressure on agricultural production. In addition, problems related to climate change, water scarcity or decreasing amounts of arable land have serious implications for farming sustainability. Weeds can affect food production in agricultural systems, decreasing the product quality and productivity due to the competition for natural resources. On the other hand, weeds can also be considered to be valuable indicators of biodiversity because of their role in providing ecosystem services. In this sense, there is a need to carry out an effective and sustainable weed management process, integrating the various control methods (i.e., cultural, mechanical and chemical) in a harmonious way, without harming the entire agrarian ecosystem. Thus, intensive mechanization and herbicide use should be avoided. Herbicide resistance in some weed biotypes is a major concern today and must be tackled. On the other hand, the recent development of weed control technologies can promote higher levels of food production, lower the amount of inputs needed and reduce environmental damage, invariably bringing us closer to more sustainable agricultural systems. In this paper, we review the most common conventional and non-conventional weed control strategies from a sustainability perspective, highlighting the application of the precision and automated weed control technologies associated with precision weed management (PWM).

To the question of modernity and corresponding representations of subjectivity: “dividual” and social organizations

This article is part of the extensive research of value characteristics of IT community and their potential for innovative development. In view of this, the author examines the problem of determination of the modern cultural situation and, as a result, deduction of the criterion that establishes what “modern” is. Based on the previously acquired conclusions (according to which, such criterion is the consideration of irreducible multiplicity, and the major risk is the loss of autonomy by individuals), the author aims to find the model of subjectivity that would be simultaneously multiple and autonomous. The search for the model that meets such criterion is carried out through referring to the control technologies developed within the framework of third-order cybernetics. The novelty of this article consists in peculiarity of the approach towards solution of the set task: the question in the form and method of determination of modernity has been first raised and  solved within the framework of the Russian academic philosophical community at  the previous stage of research, which determines the relevance at the current stage as well. Comparison of the developments of Russian and foreign authors reveals the parallelism between the development of cybernetics and psychoanalysis; demonstrates the conceptual intersections of the third-order cybernetics and schizoanalysis; establishes the conformity between the subjectivity of the individual and the type of organizations they are engaged in. The article offers the concept of “dividual” as a model suitable for solution of the set task. The conclusions is made that the existing potential of the IT community for modernization is neutralized in the context of transition towards the hierarchical structure of the organization.

Towards in-situ quality control of conductive printable electronics: a review of possible pathways

Over the past decade, printed electronics (PE) has shown great potential for a wide range of industries, from consumer goods, electronics, aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical, biomedical, to textiles and fashion. The rapid development of printing technology has been strongly driven by the growth of the PE market and its many applications. Here, we review the latest trends in PE production quality control, focusing on emerging technologies such as terahertz spectroscopy, which may play a key role in the development of smart manufacturing of PE devices in the near future. We also provide a comparison with conventional quality control technologies or off-line measurements, such as four-point probe measurements, atomic force microscopy, optical microscopy, etc.

Moderate high-pressure superdormancy in Bacillus spores: properties of superdormant spores and proteins potentially influencing moderate high-pressure germination

Resistant bacterial spores are a major concern in industrial decontamination processes. An approach known as pressure-mediated germination-inactivation strategy aims to artificially germinate spores by pressure to mitigate their resistance to inactivation processes. The successful implementation of such a germination-inactivation strategy relies on the germination of all spores. However, germination is heterogeneous, with some ‘superdormant’ spores germinating extremely slowly or not at all. The present study investigated potential underlying reasons for moderate high-pressure (150 MPa, 37°C) superdormancy of Bacillus subtilis spores. The water and dipicolinic acid content of superdormant spores was compared to that of the initial dormant spore population. The results suggest that water and dipicolinic acid content are not major drivers of moderate high-pressure superdormancy. Proteomic analysis was used to identify proteins that were quantified at significantly different levels in superdormant spores. Subsequent validation of the germination capacity of deletion mutants revealed that the presence of protein YhcN is required for efficient moderate high-pressure germination and that proteins MinC, cse60, and SspK may also play a role, albeit a minor one. Importance Spore-forming bacteria are ubiquitous in nature, and as a consequence, inevitably enter the food chain or other processing environments. Their presence can lead to significant spoilage or safety related issues. Intensive treatment is usually required to inactivate them; however, this harms important quality attributes. A pressure-mediated germination-inactivation approach can balance the need for effective spore inactivation and retention of sensitive ingredients. However, superdormant spores are the bottleneck preventing the successful and safe implementation of such a strategy. In-depth understanding of moderate high-pressure germination and the underlying causes of superdormancy is necessary to advance the development of mild high pressure-based spore control technologies. The approach used in this work allowed the identification of proteins that have not yet been associated to reduced germination at moderate high-pressure. This research paves the way for further studies on the germination and superdormancy mechanisms in spores, assisting the development of mild spore inactivation strategies.