A new automatic sugarcane seed cutting machine based on internet of things technology and RGB color sensor.

Egypt is among the world's largest producers of sugarcane. This crop is of great economic importance in the country, as it serves as a primary source of sugar, a vital strategic material. The pre-cutting planting mode is the most used technique for cultivating sugarcane in Egypt. However, this method is plagued by several issues that adversely affect the quality of the crop. A proposed solution to these problems is the implementation of a sugarcane-seed-cutting device, which incorporates automatic identification technology for optimal efficiency. The aim is to enhance the cutting quality and efficiency of the pre-cutting planting mode of sugarcane. The developed machine consists of a feeding system, a node scanning and detection system, a node cutting system, a sugarcane seed counting and monitoring system, and a control system. The current research aims to study the pulse widths (PW) of three-color channels (R, G, and B) of the RGB color sensors under laboratory conditions. The output PW of red, green, and blue channel values were recorded at three color types for hand-colored nodes [black, red, and blue], three speeds of the feeding system [7.5 m/min, 5 m/min, and 4.3 m/min], three installing heights of the RGB color sensors [2.0 cm, 3.0 cm, and 4.0 cm], and three widths of the colored line [10.0 mm, 7.0 mm, and 3.0 mm]. The laboratory test results s to identify hand-colored sugarcane nodes showed that the recognition rate ranged from 95% to 100% and the average scanning time ranged from 1.0 s to 1.75 s. The capacity of the developed machine ranged up to 1200 seeds per hour. The highest performance of the developed machine was 100% when using hand-colored sugarcane stalks with a 10 mm blue color line and installing the RGB color sensor at 2.0 cm in height, as well as increasing the speed of the feeding system to 7.5 m/min. The use of IoT and RGB color sensors has made it possible to get analytical indicators like those achieved with other automatic systems for cutting sugar cane seeds without requiring the use of computers or expensive, fast industrial cameras for image processing.

Regulation of multi-area power system load frequency in presence of V2G scheme.

The integration of renewable sources (RSs) and the widespread deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) has transitioned from a luxury to a necessity in modern power systems. This results from the sharp increase in electric power demand and public awareness of switching to green energy. However, in addition to load fluctuations and changes in system parameters, these RSs and EVs negatively impact the load frequency (LF). This work presents a LF control for a modern multi-area power system incorporating photovoltaic (PV) and EV chargers. The proposed controller primarily utilizes EV chargers within modern power systems. This approach offers the advantage of using the already present components instead of introducing new ones. The proposed controller comprises the ecological optimization approach (ECO) and the integral controller (I). Both of these components are designed for autonomous vehicle-to-grid (V2G) devices. The proposed control technique is applied to a three-area power system, where the V2G scheme is located in Area-1. Variations in the load, PV power generated, and system parameters are considered to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed (I+ECO+V2G) controller for controlling the LF. To assess the performance of the proposed I+ECO+V2G system, a comparative analysis is conducted to compare its performance with both the I+ECO system and the standard I-controller. The simulation findings demonstrate that implementing the I+ECO and the proposed I+ECO+V2G strategies results in enhanced system stability and decreased LF fluctuations compared to the conventional I-control approach. Furthermore, while comparing the I+ECO control technique to the suggested control strategy I+ECO+V2G, it was seen that the latter reaches steady state values more quickly. The results validate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed controller in mitigating the impacts of load disturbances, uncertainties, and nonlinearities within the system. These simulations were performed using MATLAB/SIMULINK. To validate the outcomes of the simulation results, an experimental setup consisting of a real-time dSPACE DS1103 connected to another PC via QUARC pid_e data acquisition card was used. The experimental findings have substantiated the accuracy of the simulation findings about the superiority of the I+ECO+V2G methodology compared to both the I+ECO and I-control methodologies concerning system performance and LF control.

Monitoring of health status, performance and transcript abundance of some genes in dairy heifers produced by embryo transfer or artificial insemination.

The use of multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET) technology in the dairy cattle industry has increased dramatically in recent decades for the production of offspring from genetically superior cows. Yet, its long-term ramifications on adult performance have not been adequately clarified. Therefore, this study targeted comparing dairy heifers born after the transfer of in vivo-produced embryos (MOET-heifers, n = 400) and those born after artificial insemination (AI-heifers, n = 340). The performance of MOET-heifers and AI-heifers was compared from birth till completion of the first lactation regarding health, fertility and some lactational performance parameters. The transcript abundance of several genes was also assessed in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBWC). Results showed greater pre-weaning mortalities, greater likelihood of being culled as a nulliparous heifer and younger age at first insemination in AI-heifers (p < .001). At their first calving, primiparous MOET-heifers experienced a greater (p < .01) incidence of stillbirth compared to primiparous AI-heifers. In spite of that, primiparous AI-heifers were more likely to be culled due to infertility (p < .001), took a greater number of inseminations to achieve pregnancy (p < .01) and displayed a longer first calving interval. There was a similar lactational performance between the two groups. Upregulation of the transcript levels of TAC3, LOC522763, TFF2, SAXO2, CNKSR3 and ALAS2 was interestingly observed in primiparous MOET-heifers, compared to primiparous AI-heifers. In conclusion, MOET-heifers were less likely to be culled during the first year of life, had superior reproductive performance versus AI-heifers during their first lactation and expressed upregulation of genes associated with fertility.

Heat stress during critical windows of the oestrous cycle and risk of pregnancy establishment in embryo-recipient dairy heifers.

This study aimed to determine effects of exposure of recipient dairy heifers to heat stress (THI ≥ 73) during the oestrous cycle coinciding with embryo transfer (ET) on the risk of pregnancy establishment after transfer of in vivo produced embryos. Recipients exposed to THI values ≥73 during Days zero (recipient estrus), 7 (day of ET), 14 (seven days after ET), 15 and 16 (maternal recognition of pregnancy) of the ET cycle were considered as heat-stressed heifers (n = 254), while heifers in the control group (n = 470) were not exposed to THI ≥ 73 at any of the previous days. Results revealed no significant effects of any of the investigated factors on the risk of pregnancy following ET. However, the mean THI above 77 was associated with a drastic numerical decrease in PR/ET (36.63%), when compared to a mean THI 72 (78.78%). In addition, PR/ET after transfer of second- and third-grade embryos were numerically lower in heat-stressed recipients, compared with first-grade embryos (41.17% vs. 56.36%, respectively). Our findings confirmed that transfer of blastocysts was associated with numerically higher PR/ET in heat-stressed and control recipients, as compared to morula stage. Interestingly, PR/ET tended to be higher when sexed embryos were transferred to the control recipients compared with heat-stressed ones. In conclusion, PR/ET in dairy heifers was not significantly affected by heat stress during critical windows of their oestrous cycle coinciding with ET, whereas transfer of sexed embryos gives lower results under conditions of heat stress.

The Frequency of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among Diabetic Children in El Minia Governorate, Egypt.

OBJECTIVES: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in children and adolescents is becoming an increasingly important public health concern throughout the world. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of T2DM among diabetic young people in El-Minia Governorate, Egypt, and to detect its risk factors. METHODS: A total of 210 diabetic patients under 18 years old in Minia Governorate were included in the study and underwent a thorough history-taking, a physical examination and laboratory investigations. RESULTS: T2DM was present in 28 patients (13.3%); it was significantly present in 18 females (64.3%) and 20 (71.4%) of them had a positive family history of DM. T2DM patients had significantly higher BMI and waist circumference centiles for age and sex than those with T1DM. Also, haemoglobin A1c %, serum C-peptide and cholesterol levels were significantly higher in T2DM than T1DM patients. Finally, there were weak significant positive correlations between C-peptide level and both BMI and waist circumference. CONCLUSION: T2DM is no longer a disease of adults but can also occur in children and adolescents. The results suggested that obesity, female gender and a positive family history of DM are risk factors for T2DM. Also, patients with T2DM had poorer glycaemic control and hypercholesterolemia than those with other types of diabetes.