Use of nanotechnology to improve plant performance in boreal forest ecosystem

Nano-priming has been shown to significantly improve the total germination percentage and seedling vigor of different plant seeds including agricultural crops. In these applications, seeds primed with Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibited dramatic improvements in germination rate and seedling vigor (root and stem lengths). Herein, we applied this technique to non-agriculture crop species in an attempt to resolve several different seeds dormancies hindering their propagation and field establishment. Specifically, the seeds of boreal forest plant species with embryo and seed coat dormancy were nano-primed with several carbon-based nanoparticles, as part of a strategy to overcome seed dormancy. Carboxylic acid functionalized multi-walled carbon nanoparticle (-COOH biomolecule coated) was the most effective in breaking physical (seed coat) and morphological dormancy (embryo), as well as increase the germination rate in combination with stratification in green alder (Alnus viridis L.), bog birch (Betula pumila), and labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum). Conversely, a combination of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs), especially the multiwall carbon nanoparticles functionalized with carboxylic acid (MWCNT-COOH), cold stratification, mechanical scarification and hormonal priming (gibberellic acid) was effective in overcoming embryo and hard seed coat dormancy present in buffalo berry seeds (Shepherdia canadensis L.). A concomitant increase in the seedling vigor index and the number of normal seedlings was observed in the nano-primed germinated seedlings, indicating its superior ability to be established across a range of environmental sites. The improvement in germination rate and resolution of both embryo and seed coat dormancy appears to be associated with the remodeling of several membrane lipids as indicated by the segregation of these molecular species in the same quadrant of the biplot as germination rate (GR) and seedling vigor index (SVI), following redundancy analysis. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) (18:1/18:3), phosphatidylglycerol (PG) (16:1/18:3), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (18:3/18:2), and digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG) (18:3/18:3) lipids classes were observed to be highly correlated with increased seed germination percentages and the enhanced seedling vigor observed in this study for the evaluated species. Mechanistically, it appears that carbon nano-primed seeds following stratification is effective in mediating seed dormancy by remodeling the seed membrane lipids {Phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidic acid (PA) and digalactosylglycerol (DG)} in both peatland and upland boreal forest species. These findings suggest that nanopriming (20 μgmL⁻¹ or 40 μgmL⁻¹) may be a useful approach to resolve seed dormancy issues and improve seed germination in non-resource boreal forest species ideally suited for forest reclamation following resource mining

A predictive model for the population growth of refugees in Asia: a multiple linear regression approach

Recent data provided by UNHCR indicated that 85% of the world’s displaced people are hosted in developing countries, while Asia and the Pacific are homes to about 3.5 million refugees. These hosting countries are often not well equipped with the resources needed to accommodate for the huge surplus in the number of refugees. The ability to predict the population growth of refugees thus enables refugee-hosting countries and NGOs to prepare for refugee migration beforehand, resulting in better infrastructure and opportunities for the refugees expected to enter a country. Advanced analytics could assist experts to chart where refugees are likely to head next, study the signs of future influx, prepare for reroute plans and raise crisis funds. In this paper, we present a regression model that predicts the anticipated number of refugee population in 20 Asian refugee-hosting countries. Using time-series analysis, we establish the pattern of refugee growth for Asian countries with a history of an average population of 2,000 refugees within the last 25 years as well as the last decade. Our model considers several input factors affecting the refugee population growth and predicts the number of refugees between 2017 to 2022 with promising results

BiofilmScanner: A Computational Intelligence Approach to Obtain Bacterial Cell Morphological Attributes from Biofilm Image

Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20 (DA-G20) is utilized as a model for sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) that are associated with corrosion issues caused by microorganisms. SRB-based biofilms are thought to be responsible for the billion-dollar-per-year bio-corrosion of metal infrastructure. Understanding the extraction of the bacterial cells' shape and size properties in the SRB-biofilm at different growth stages will assist with the design of anti-corrosion techniques. However, numerous issues affect current approaches, including time-consuming geometric property extraction, low efficiency, and high error rates. This paper proposes BiofilScanner, a Yolact-based deep learning method integrated with invariant moments to address these problems. Our approach efficiently detects and segments bacterial cells in an SRB image while simultaneously invariant moments measure the geometric characteristics of the segmented cells with low errors. The numerical experiments of the proposed method demonstrate that the BiofilmScanner is 2.1x and 6.8x faster than our earlier Mask-RCNN and DLv3+ methods for detecting, segmenting, and measuring the geometric properties of the cell. Furthermore, the BiofilmScanner achieved an F1-score of 85.28% while Mask-RCNN and DLv3+ obtained F1-scores of 77.67% and 75.18%, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Pattern Recognitio

Synthesis, Characterization and Biological Activity of Oxovanadium(IV) Complexes Containing α-Amino Acid Schiff Bases and 5,6-Dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline Ligands

Five oxovanadium(IV) complexes of the type [VO(L)(DPhen)], containing Schiff base derived from α-amino acid, [where L = 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde-α-alanine (hb-Ala), 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde-DL-phenylalanine (hb-Phe), 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde-leucine (hb-Leu), 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde-glycine (hb-Gly) and 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde-DL-methionine (hb-Met) & DPhen = 5,6-Dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline] have been synthesized and characterized by some physicochemical properties, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibilities measurements, elemental analysis, UV-Visible, FT-IR and EIS-MS spectral studies. The molar conductance values evidenced the non-electrolytic nature of the complexes. The magnetic moment values of the complexes are in accordance with the d1 electronic configuration of the VIVO2+ moiety and indicates the paramagnetic behavior of the complexes. IR spectral data indicates the coordination of tridentate amino acid Schiff base ligands to the vanadyl (VO2+) ion through O, N, O-donor. ESI-MS spectral study confirmed the proposed structure of the complexes. All the analytical data suggested that all the complexes possess to have distorted octahedral geometry. The complexes were screened for their antibacterial activity against four human pathogenic bacteria; two Gram positive Escherichia coli & Pseudomonas aeruginosa and two Gram negative Staphylococcus aureus & Bacillus cereus with Kanamycin (K-30) standard. The result shows that all the complexes have moderate to strong potential antibacterial activity against all the pathogenic bacteria. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Estabilidad oxidativa y composición del aceite de semillas de comino negro, irradiadas con microondas, en condiciones de oxidación acelerada

The present work evaluated the impact of microwave pre-treatment on the storage stability, fatty acids and triacylglycerol contents in black cumin seed oil (BCO) during storage at 62 ºC. During storage, the oxidative indicator values (free acidity, peroxide value, p-anisidine value, TOTOX, specific extinctions and thiobarbituric acid) for the oils increased faster in untreated oil samples than in the microwaved samples. The degradation rate of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and triacylglycerol species (LLL and OLL) during storage were higher in untreated samples compared to treated ones, indicating that oxidation proceeded more slowly in the treated samples. During storage, the generation of hydroperoxides, their degradation and the formation of secondary oxidation products as investigated by FTIR, were lower in the treated oils. In conclusion, microwave pre-treatment prior to oil extraction reduced the oxidative degradation of oil samples, thereby increasing the storage stability of BCO.En el presente trabajo se evaluó el impacto del pretratamiento de las semillas de comino negro con microondas sobre la estabilidad durante el almacenamiento, los ácidos grasos y las especies de triacilgliceroles del aceite de las semillas de comino negro (BCO) durante el almacenamiento a 62 ºC. Durante el almacenamiento de los aceites, los indicadores oxidativos (acidez libre, peróxidos, p-anisidina, TOTOX, extinciones específicas y ácido tiobarbitúrico) aumentaron más rápidamente en los aceites de semillas sin tratar que en los de las muestras tratadas con microondas. La degradación durante el almacenamiento de los ácidos grasos poliinsaturados (PUFA) y las especies de triacilgliceroles (LLL y OLL) fue mayor en las muestras no tratadas en comparación con las tratadas, lo que indica que la oxidación avanzó más lentamente en las muestras tratadas. Durante el almacenamiento, la generación de hidroperóxidos, su degradación y la formación de productos de oxidación secundarios investigados por FTIR, fueron menores en los aceites tratados. En conclusión, el pretratamiento con microondas de las semillas antes de la extracción del aceite redujo la degradación oxidativa de los aceites, lo que aumentó la estabilidad de almacenamiento de BCO

Compared the effect of indirect ELISA and serum plate agglutination (SPA) test for the detection of Mycoplasma gallisepticum in chicken

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is a highly economical and persistent threat of poultry industry in Bangladesh. Indirect ELISA (iELISA) and Serum plate agglutination test (SPA) is available serological test for diagnosis of MG antibodies. The aim of this research was conducted on the basis of comparison on diagnosis results between iELISA and SPA test for MG antibody in same sample in layer chicken. Total 563 serum samples were collected and tested for MG antibody by both iELISA and SPA test. Out of 563 samples 363 (64.48%) samples were positive by iELISA and 316 (56.13%) samples were positive in SPA test. The higher incidence of MG antibody was found in chicken at 50-56 weeks and flock size was 3000-4200 as 69.63% by iELISA and 61.21% by SPA and in Sonali breeds 69.08% by iELISA and 60.64% by SPA. The results showed the comparatively higher number of positive results in iELISA test than SPA test. So the findings of the study demonstrated that a significant (p<0.05) difference between iELISA and SPA test present. The study may helpful for screening the flock for MG and small-holding farmers may use SPA test rather than iELISA test due to rapid, easy and cost effective

Seasonal variation in the coastal water phytoplankton communities and their environmental responses at upstream and downstream of the steep Naf River in the south-western Bay of Bengal

As a multinational river, the Naf River flows into the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean, between the Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh and the Rakhine state of Burma. In a multidisciplinary approach, several experiments were carried out to understand the seasonal diversity of the phytoplankton community structure. A total of four layers of water was sampled from four depths in the Naf River during monsoon (September) and winter (December) of 2016. 41 species of phytoplankton were identified, and 3 different dominant groups (Cyanobacteria, Diatoms, and Dinoflagellates) were found. Diatoms and cyanobacteria alone were found to be most prevalent. Higher species diversity was observed in the monsoon season, with Synedra sp. (1.84×105 cells L-1, 18.76%) and winter with Microcystis sp. (1.41×105 cells L-1, 17.74%), respectively. In monsoon, NO3-N and PO4-P were both higher than winter (450.9 and 34.4 µg L-1, respectively) especially, at downstream Naf River. Moreover, high diversity indexes (richness) of phytoplankton were recorded along with these estuarine stations. Significant correlations (P<0.01) of nutrients with phytoplankton may liable behind these scenarios. An analysis of principal component analysis (PCA) and linear regression supported this correspondence. In the monsoon season, the concentration of Chlorophyll-α reached the highest level (165 µg L-1) at a depth of 1.5 m, in Station-D. Cluster analysis based on the nutrient content of the Naf River was found two (upstream and downstream) mentionable zones during the winter and monsoon seasons. The results of the present study indicate that estuarine downstream areas are more productive than upstream areas of the Naf River at the southwest coastal zone of the Bay of Bengal

Agricultural Production System Based On IOT

Internet of things (IoT) is not a single word, but it has gathered billions of devices in the same lane. The Internet of things has given the lives of things. Machines have a sense now like a human. It works remotely as the program has been settled inside the chip. The system has become so smart and reliable. The Internet of things has brought out changes in most of the sectors of humankind. Meanwhile, agriculture is the main strength of a country. The more the production of agricultural products increased, the world will be more completeness from food shortage. The production of agriculture can be increased when the IoT system can be entirely implemented in the agricultural sector. Most of the approaches for IoT based agriculture have been reviewed in this paper. Related to IoT based agriculture, most of the architecture and methodology have been interpreted and have been critically analyzed based on previous related work of the researchers. This paper will be able to provide a complete idea with the architecture and methodology in the field of IoT based agriculture. Moreover, the challenges for agricultural IoT are discussed with the methods provided by the researche

Wi-Fi Fingerprinting for Indoor Positioning

Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Fingerprinting is a remarkable approach developed by modern science to detect the user’s location efficiently. Today, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is used to keep track of our current location for outdoor positioning. In GPS technology, satellite signals cannot reach indoor environments as they are shielded from obstructions so that indoor environments with a lack of Line of Sight (LoS) do not provide enough satellite signal accuracy. Since indoor environments are very difficult to track, thus, a wide variety of techniques for dealing with them have been suggested. The best way to offer an indoor positioning service with the current technology is Wi-Fi since the most commercial infrastructure is well equipped with Wi-Fi routers. For indoor positioning systems (IPS), Wi-Fi fingerprinting approaches are being extremely popular. In this paper, all the approaches for Wi-Fi fingerprinting have been reviewed for indoor position localization. Related to Wi-Fi fingerprinting, most of the algorithms have been interpreted and the previous works of other researchers have been critically analyzed in this paper to get a clear view of the Wi-Fi fingerprinting process