The estimation of crop emergence in potatoes by UAV RGB imagery

Abstract Background Crop emergence and canopy cover are important physiological traits for potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivar evaluation and nutrients management. They play important roles in variety screening, field management and yield prediction. Traditional manual assessment of these traits is not only laborious but often subjective. Results In this study, semi-automated image analysis software was developed to estimate crop emergence from high-resolution RGB ortho-images captured from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Potato plant objects were extracted from bare soil using Excess Green Index and Otsu thresholding methods. Six morphological features were calculated from the images to be variables of a Random Forest classifier for estimating the number of potato plants at emergence stage. The outputs were then used to estimate crop emergence in three field experiments that were designed to investigate the effects of cultivars, levels of potassium (K) fertiliser input, and new compound fertilisers on potato growth. The results indicated that RGB UAV image analysis can accurately estimate potato crop emergence rate in comparison to manual assessment, with correlation coefficient ($$r^{2}$$ r2 ) of 0.96 and provide an efficient tool to evaluate emergence uniformity. Conclusions The proposed UAV image analysis method is a promising tool for use as a high throughput phenotyping method for assessing potato crop development at emergence stage. It can also facilitate future studies on optimizing fertiliser management and improving emergence consistency

Oxygen induced promotion of electrochemical reduction of CO₂ via co-electrolysis

Harnessing renewable electricity to drive the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ is being intensely studied for sustainable fuel production and as a means for energy storage. Copper is the only monometallic electrocatalyst capable of converting CO₂ to value-added products, e.g., hydrocarbons and oxygenates, but suffers from poor selectivity and mediocre activity. Multiple oxidative treatments have shown improvements in the performance of copper catalysts. However, the fundamental underpinning for such enhancement remains controversial. Here, we combine reactivity, in-situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and computational investigations to demonstrate that the presence of surface hydroxyl species by co-electrolysis of CO₂ with low concentrations of O₂ can dramatically enhance the activity of copper catalyzed CO2 electroreduction. Our results indicate that co-electrolysis of CO₂ with an oxidant is a promising strategy to introduce catalytically active species in electrocatalysis

Examining factors that influence medication adherence with children seen at outpatient department in Western China: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of medication adherence, assess the association between guardians’ mental health and medication adherence for children seen at outpatient department from western China, and identify characteristics associated with nonadherence. We conducted a cross-sectional survey. Participants were recruited by consecutive sampling from the outpatient of the West China Second Hospital from October 2021 to April 2022. The Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) was used to evaluate patients’ medication adherence. A multivariate linear regression model was used to analyze influencing factors. 1206 children with a mean age of 6.02 ± 3.86 years were included. Seventeen percent (208/1206) of patients showed good adherence, 24.7% (298/1206) showed moderate adherence, and 58% (700/1206) showed poor adherence. Thirty-five percent (428/1206) of guardians had anxiety. Factors that influenced medication adherence included anxiety score of guardian (P = 0.030), education level of guardian (P = 0.003), annual household income (P = 0.001), and days the patient is on the medication (P = 0.023). A majority of children seen at outpatient department from West China had low medication adherence, and depression and anxiety among guardians were common. Implementing health education measures will be important for improving medication adherence in future

Jumping with Expandable Trunk of a Metamorphic Quadruped Robot—The Origaker II

Most of the traditional quadruped robots are assembled with rigid trunks that make no active contributions to their locomotion performances. However, in the natural world, some quadrupeds expand their trunks when jumping. This paper proposes a metamorphic quadruped robot, named the Origaker II, with an expandable trunk that can implement the motion of contracting-stretching. Benefitting from the expandable trunk, this robot achieves a longer jumping distance than that of the traditional quadruped robots. The structure of the robot is introduced. Its jumping motion is designed based on the observation of a frog. The effect of the expandable trunk on this robot will be mathematically analyzed. At last, contrast simulations are conducted to verify the benefits of the expandable trunk to the robot

Above-ground biomass estimation and yield prediction in potato by using UAV-based RGB and hyperspectral imaging

© 2020 International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Inc. (ISPRS) Rapid and accurate biomass and yield estimation facilitates efficient plant phenotyping and site-specific crop management. A low altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was used to acquire RGB and hyperspectral imaging data for a potato crop canopy at two growth stages to estimate the above-ground biomass and predict crop yield. Field experiments included six cultivars and multiple treatments of nitrogen, potassium, and mixed compound fertilisers. Crop height was estimated using the difference between digital surface model and digital elevation models derived from RGB imagery. Combining with two narrow-band vegetation indices selected by the RReliefF feature selection algorithm. Random Forest regression models demonstrated high prediction accuracy for both fresh and dry above-ground biomass, with a coefficient of determination (r2) > 0.90. Crop yield was predicted using four narrow-band vegetation indices and crop height (r2 = 0.63) with imagery data obtained 90 days after planting. A Partial Least Squares regression model based on the full wavelength spectra demonstrated improved yield prediction (r2 = 0.81). This study demonstrated the merits of UAV-based RGB and hyperspectral imaging for estimating the above-ground biomass and yield of potato crops, which can be used to assist in site-specific crop management

THE EFFECTS OF SELF-CONSTRUAL AND THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT ON INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA AMONG CHINESE GAY MEN

Background and Objective Internalized homophobia is common among gay men. Gay men who live in high-tolerance social environments tend to have less internalized homophobia than gay men who live in low-tolerance environments. The interaction between the living environment and self-construal influences gay men’s internalized homophobia. Material and Methods This study examined the association between self-construal and homophobia according to the living environment using a sample of gay men (N=521) aged 14–43 years. The data were collected between January and August 2017 using an online questionnaire that included an internalized homophobia scale, self-construal items, and demographic characteristics. The two-way ANOVA analyses revealed that the self-construal type was differentially associated with internalized homophobia depending on the living environment of the study participants. Results Living in a high-tolerance area while having an independent self-construal was associated with lower internalized homophobia scores than living in a low-tolerance area. In contrast, alternating between independent and dependent self-construals was associated with higher internalized homophobia scores. Conclusion Mental health services for participants with conflicted self-construals are emerging. Self-acceptance and compassion-focused practices should be explored as a way to help gay men adjust their conflicted self-construals

Millimeter Wave Treatment Inhibits Apoptosis of Chondrocytes via Regulation Dynamic Equilibrium of Intracellular Free Ca2+

The molecular mechanisms of TNF-α-induced apoptosis of chondrocyte and the role of Ca2+ mediating the effects of MW on TNF-α-induced apoptosis of chondrocytes remained unclear. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism underlying inhibiting TNF-α-induced chondrocytes apoptosis of MW. MTT assay, DAPI, and flow cytometry demonstrated that MW significantly increased cell activity and inhibited chromatin condensation accompanying the loss of plasma membrane asymmetry and the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential. Our results also indicated that MW reduced the elevation of [Ca2+]i in chondrocytes by LSCM. Moreover, MW suppressed the protein levels of calpain, Bax, cytochrome c, and caspase-3, while the expressions of Bcl-2, collagen II, and aggrecan were increased. Our evidences indicated that MW treatment inhibited the apoptosis of chondrocytes through depression of [Ca2+]i. It also inhibited calpain activation, which mediated Bax cleavage and cytochrome c release and initiated the apoptotic execution phase. In addition, MW treatment increased the expression of collagen II and aggrecan of chondrocytes