Novel digital features feature discriminate between drought resistant and drought sensitive rice under controlled and field conditions

Dynamic quantification of drought response is a key issue both for variety selection and for functional genetic study of rice drought resistance. Traditional assessment of drought resistance traits, such as stay-green and leaf-rolling, has utilized manual measurements, that are often subjective, error-prone, poorly quantified and time consuming. To relieve this phenotyping bottleneck, we demonstrate a feasible, robust and non-destructive method that dynamically quantifies response to drought, under both controlled and field conditions. Firstly, RGB images of individual rice plants at different growth points were analyzed to derive 4 features that were influenced by imposition of drought. These include a feature related to the ability to stay green, which we termed greenness plant area ratio (GPAR) and 3 shape descriptors [total plant area/bounding rectangle area ratio (TBR), perimeter area ratio (PAR) and total plant area/convex hull area ratio (TCR)]. Experiments showed that these 4 features were capable of discriminating reliably between drought resistant and drought sensitive accessions, and dynamically quantifying the drought response under controlled conditions across time (at either daily or half hourly time intervals). We compared the 3 shape descriptors and concluded that PAR was more robust and sensitive to leaf-rolling than the other shape descriptors. In addition, PAR and GPAR proved to be effective in quantification of drought response in the field. Moreover, the values obtained in field experiments using the collection of rice varieties were correlated with those derived from pot-based experiments. The general applicability of the algorithms is demonstrated by their ability to probe archival Miscanthus data previously collected on an independent platform. In conclusion, this image-based technology is robust providing a platform-independent tool for quantifying drought response that should be of general utility for breeding and functional genomics in future

Synthesis and Evaluation of the A–site Deficient Perovskite La0.65Sr0.3Cr0.85Ni0.15O3-δ as Fuel Electrode for High Temperature Co–electrolysis Enhanced by In Situ Exsolution of Ni Nanoparticles

In this work, we focused on the lanthanum strontium chromite (LSC) matrix with the purpose to partially substitute the B-site with an electrocatalytic reducible transition metal that could be exsolved in situ. Therefore, nickel was considered at a substitution level of 15%. In addition, an A-site deficiency was formulated in order to enhance the exsolution capability of the electrocatalyst. A precursor was synthesized by wet-chemical method and further calcined in air. Single phase was obtained with the formulation La0.65Sr0.3Cr0.85Ni0.15O3-δ (L65SCN) which was characterized by X–ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld refinement analyses. Exsolution was investigated by means of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under reducing conditions and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the particle morphology and its evolution. Ni particle exsolution was observed after exposure to a reducing atmosphere. The behaviour of the L65SCN perovskite was compared with the stoichiometric La0.70Sr0.3Cr0.85Ni0.15O3-δ (L70SCN). Aiming at evaluating the electrochemical performance, electrolyte-supported cells were manufactured by screen printing and sintering of composite L65SCN/CGO as fuel electrode and La0.58Sr0.4Fe0.8Co0.2O3-δ (LSCF) as air electrode on CGO-3YSZ-CGO substrates. The produced cells were tested in electrolysis and co–electrolysis mode and characterized by means of Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization curves. Results will be presented with the perspective of SOEC applications

Recent advances in self-healing hydrogel composites for flexible wearable electronic devices

Flexible electronic devices with mechanical properties like the soft tissues of human organs have great potential for the next generation of wearable and implantable electronic devices. Self-healing hydrogel composites typically have high tensile strength, high electrical conductivity and damage repair properties and have wide applications in flexible electronics, such as human-computer interaction, health detection and soft robots. Various self-healing hydrogel composites have been developed to produce new stretchable conductive materials with satisfactory mechanical and self-healing properties. This paper presents the fabrication of self-healing hydrogel composites and their application in flexible electronic devices. Firstly, the repair mechanism of physically cross-linked and chemically cross-linked self-healing hydrogel composites is presented. Secondly, self-healing double network hydrogels, self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels and double crosslinked self-healing hydrogel composites and their applications in flexible sensors, energy harvesting devices, energy storage devices and optical devices are presented and discussed. Finally, the challenges and prospects of self-healing hydrogel composites in flexible electronic devices in the future are presented

Novel digital features feature discriminate between drought resistant and drought sensitive rice under controlled and field conditions

Dynamic quantification of drought response is a key issue both for variety selection and for functional genetic study of rice drought resistance. Traditional assessment of drought resistance traits, such as stay-green and leaf-rolling, has utilized manual measurements, that are often subjective, error-prone, poorly quantified and time consuming. To relieve this phenotyping bottleneck, we demonstrate a feasible, robust and non-destructive method that dynamically quantifies response to drought, under both controlled and field conditions. Firstly, RGB images of individual rice plants at different growth points were analyzed to derive 4 features that were influenced by imposition of drought. These include a feature related to the ability to stay green, which we termed greenness plant area ratio (GPAR) and 3 shape descriptors [total plant area/bounding rectangle area ratio (TBR), perimeter area ratio (PAR) and total plant area/convex hull area ratio (TCR)]. Experiments showed that these 4 features were capable of discriminating reliably between drought resistant and drought sensitive accessions, and dynamically quantifying the drought response under controlled conditions across time (at either daily or half hourly time intervals). We compared the 3 shape descriptors and concluded that PAR was more robust and sensitive to leaf-rolling than the other shape descriptors. In addition, PAR and GPAR proved to be effective in quantification of drought response in the field. Moreover, the values obtained in field experiments using the collection of rice varieties were correlated with those derived from pot-based experiments. The general applicability of the algorithms is demonstrated by their ability to probe archival Miscanthus data previously collected on an independent platform. In conclusion, this image-based technology is robust providing a platform-independent tool for quantifying drought response that should be of general utility for breeding and functional genomics in future

Yersinia pestis Interacts With SIGNR1 (CD209b) for Promoting Host Dissemination and Infection

Yersinia pestis, a Gram-negative bacterium and the etiologic agent of plague, has evolved from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, a cause of a mild enteric disease. However, the molecular and biological mechanisms of how Y pseudotuberculosis evolved to such a remarkably virulent pathogen, Y pestis, are not clear. The ability to initiate a rapid bacterial dissemination is a characteristic hallmark of Y pestis infection. A distinguishing characteristic between the two Yersinia species is that Y pseudotuberculosis strains possess an O-antigen of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) while Y pestis has lost the O-antigen during evolution and therefore exposes its core LPS. In this study, we showed that Y pestis utilizes its core LPS to interact with SIGNR1 (CD209b), a C-type lectin receptor on antigen presenting cells (APCs), leading to bacterial dissemination to lymph nodes, spleen and liver, and the initiation of a systemic infection. We therefore propose that the loss of O-antigen represents a critical step in the evolution of Y pseudotuberculosis into Y pestis in terms of hijacking APCs, promoting bacterial dissemination and causing the plague.Peer reviewe

White spot syndrome virus: an overview on an emergent concern

Viruses are ubiquitous and extremely abundant in the marine environment. One of such marine viruses, the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), has emerged globally as one of the most prevalent, widespread and lethal for shrimp populations. However, at present there is no treatment available to interfere with the unrestrained occurrence and spread of the disease. The recent progress in molecular biology techniques has made it possible to obtain information on the factors, mechanisms and strategies used by this virus to infect and replicate in susceptible host cells. Yet, further research is still required to fully understand the basic nature of WSSV, its exact life cycle and mode of infection. This information will expand our knowledge and may contribute to developing effective prophylactic or therapeutic measures. This review provides a state-of-the-art overview of the topic, and emphasizes the current progress and future direction for the development of WSSV control strategies

Torsional buckling of double-walled carbon nanotube embedded in a plastic medium

The torsional buckling of a double-walled carbon nanotube embedded in an elastic medium is studied in this paper. The effects of surrounding elastic medium and van der Waals forces between the inner and outer nanotubes are taken into account. Using continuum mechanics, an elastic double-shell model is presented for the torsional buckling of a double-walled carbon nanotube. Based on the model, a condition is derived in terms of the buckling modes of the shell and the parameters describing the effect of van der Waals interaction and surrounding elastic medium. A simplified analysis is also carried out estimate the critical torque for torsional buckling of the double-walled carbon nanotube

UAV Robust Strategy Control Based on MAS

A novel multiagent system (MAS) has been proposed to integrate individual UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to form a UAV team which can accomplish complex missions with better efficiency and effect. The MAS based UAV team control is more able to conquer dynamic situations and enhance the performance of any single UAV. In this paper, the MAS proposed and established combines the reacting and thinking abilities to be an initiative and autonomous hybrid system which can solve missions involving coordinated flight and cooperative operation. The MAS uses BDI model to support its logical perception and to classify the different missions; then the missions will be allocated by utilizing auction mechanism after analyzing dynamic parameters. Prim potential algorithm, particle swarm algorithm, and reallocation mechanism are proposed to realize the rational decomposing and optimal allocation in order to reach the maximum profit. After simulation, the MAS has been proved to be able to promote the success ratio and raise the robustness, while realizing feasibility of coordinated flight and optimality of cooperative mission