Banana Pseudostem Width Detection Based on Kinect V2 Depth Sensor.

This study used Kinect V2 sensor to collect the three-dimensional point cloud data of banana pseudostem and developed an automatic measurement method of banana pseudostem width. The banana plant was selected as the research object in a banana plantation in Fusui, Guangxi. The mobile measurement of banana pseudostem was carried out at a distance of 1 m from the banana plant using the field operation platform with Kinect V2 as the collection equipment. To eliminate the background data and improve the processing speed, a cascade classifier was used to recognize banana pseudostems from the depth image, extract the region of interest (ROI), and transform the ROI into a color point cloud combined with the color image; secondly, the point cloud was sparse by down-sampling; then, the point cloud noise was removed according to the classification of large-scale and small-scale noise; finally, the stem point cloud was segmented along the y-axis, and the difference between the maximum and minimum values in the x-axis direction of each segment was calculated as its horizontal width. The center point of each segment point cloud was used to fit the slope of the stem centerline, and the average horizontal width was corrected to the stem diameter. The test results show that the average measurement error is only 2.7 mm, the average relative error was 1.34%, and the measurement time is only about 300 ms. It could provide an effective solution for the automatic and rapid measurement of stem width of banana plants and other similar plants.

Effects of electron acceptors on soluble reactive phosphorus in the overlying water during algal decomposition.

Endogenous phosphorus (P) release from sediments is an important factor to cause eutrophication and, hence, algal bloom in lakes in China. Algal decomposition depletes dissolved oxygen (DO) and causes anaerobic conditions and therefore increases P release from sediments. As sediment P release is dependent on the iron (Fe) cycle, electron acceptors (e.g., NO3 (-), SO4 (2-), and Mn(4+)) can be utilized to suppress the reduction of Fe(3+) under anaerobic conditions and, as such, have the potential to impair the release of sediment P. Here, we used a laboratory experiment to test the effects of FeCl3, MnO2, and KNO3 on soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentration and related chemical variables in the overlying water column during algal decomposition at different algal densities. Results showed that algal decomposition significantly depleted DO and thereby increased sediment Fe-bound P release. Compared with the control, addition of FeCl3 significantly decreased water SRP concentration through inhibiting sediment P release. Compared with FeCl3, addition of MnO2 has less potential to suppress sediment P release during algal decomposition. Algal decomposition has the potential for NO3 (-) removal from aquatic ecosystem through denitrification and by that alleviates the suppressing role of NO3 (-) on sediment P release. Our results indicated that FeCl3 and MnO2 could be efficient in reducing sediment P release during algal decomposition, with the strongest effect found for FeCl3; large amounts of NO3 (-) were removed from the aquatic ecosystem through denitrification during algal decomposition. Moreover, the amounts of NO3 (-) removal increased with increasing algal density.

Anti-inflammatory activity of N-butanol extract from Ipomoea stolonifera in vivo and in vitro.

Ipomoea stolonifera (I. stolonifera) has been used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases including rheumatism and rheumatoid arthritis in Chinese traditional medicine. However, the anti-inflammatory activity of I. stolonifera has not been elucidated. For this reason, the anti-inflammatory activity of n-butanol extract of I. stolonifera (BE-IS) was evaluated in vivo by using acute models (croton oil-induced mouse ear edema, carrageenan-induced rat paw edema, and carrageenan-induced rat pleurisy) and chronic models (cotton pellet-induced rat granuloma, and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced rat arthritis). Results indicated that oral administration of BE-IS significantly attenuated croton oil-induced ear edema, decreased carrageenan-induced paw edema, reduced carrageenan-induced exudates and cellular migration, inhibited cotton pellet-induced granuloma formation and improved CFA-induced arthritis. Preliminary mechanism studies demonstrated that BE-IS decreased the levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and malondialdehyde (MDA), increased the activity of anti-oxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) in vivo, and reduced the production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-6 in lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW264.7 macrophages in vitro. Results obtained in vivo and in vitro demonstrate that BE-IS has considerable anti-inflammatory potential, which provided experimental evidences for the traditional application of Ipomoea stolonifera in inflammatory diseases.

Development of a novel method for hot-pressure extraction of protein from chicken bone and the effect of enzymatic hydrolysis on the extracts.

To investigate the hot-pressure extraction of protein from chicken bone (CB), chicken bone extracts (CBE) was prepared from CB by heating at 130±0.5 °C for 120 min, followed by filtration, standing, defatting, and concentration. Effects of enzymatic hydrolysis on the properties of hydrolysates were examined. Results showed CBE contained 25.59% of protein, and showed a desirable value of protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score for adult. The total amino acid (AA) content of CBE is 21.99%, among which 40.62% and 54.66% are essential and fresh AA, respectively. Forty kinds of volatile compounds were identified after 24 h of hydrolysis, with 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine as the key flavor compound. After 8 h of hydrolysis of CBE, the content of small MW of peptides (400-1000 Da) increased by 74 times compared with that of 1 h. CBE and its hydrolysates demonstrate a new kind of potential suitable nutritional supplement in various foods.

Effect of hydraulic retention time and seed material on phosphorus recovery and crystal size from urine in an air-agitated reactor.

Phosphorus (P) recovery from urine is affected by various parameters. This study evaluates the effects of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and seed material on P recovery and crystal size in an air-agitated reactor. Results show that ortho-phosphate removal and struvite recovery efficiencies were 96.3% and 89.5%, and 97.1% and 93.0%, after five runs of HRTs of 1 and 2 h, respectively. Low loss of crystals from effluent urine solutions indicates high struvite recovery efficiency and is correlated with the structure and design of the reactor. The average particle size decreased from 40.0 to 31.7 µm as the HRT increased from 1 to 2 h. The two types of seed materials (zeolite and molecular sieve) did not affect the ortho-phosphate removal efficiency but affected the struvite crystal size. In particular, multi-stage addition of zeolites increased the average crystal size from 33.7 to 57.0 µm.

Antioxidant capacity and in vitro inhibition of adipogenesis and inflammation by phenolic extracts of Vaccinium floribundum and Aristotelia chilensis.

Interest in berries from South America has increased due to their potential health benefits. The objective of this study was to characterize the anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins of Vaccinium floribundum and Aristotelia chilensis , total phenolics, and antioxidant capacity and to evaluate, in vitro, the ability of their phenolic extracts to reduce adipogenesis and lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The anti-inflammatory property of these extracts on RAW 264.7 macrophages was also investigated. Antioxidant capacity, measured as oxygen radical scavenging capacity and expressed as Trolox equivalents, was higher in the berries of A. chilensis. Phenolic extracts inhibited lipid accumulation by 4.0-10.8% when adipocytes were treated at maturity and by 5.9-37.9% when treated throughout differentiation. Furthermore, a proanthocyanidin-enriched fraction from V. floribundum significantly increased Pref-1 expression in preadipocytes. Phenolic extracts decreased the production of nitric oxide (3.7-25.5%) and prostaglandin E2 (9.1-89.1%) and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (9.8-61.8%) and cycloxygenase-2 (16.6-62.0%) in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. V. floribundum and A. chilensis phytochemicals limit adipogenesis and inflammatory pathways in vitro, warranting further in vivo studies.

Alaskan wild berry resources and human health under the cloud of climate change.

Wild berries are integral dietary components for Alaska Native people and a rich source of polyphenolic metabolites that can ameliorate metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes. In this study, five species of wild Alaskan berries (Vaccinium ovalifolium , Vaccinium uliginosum , Rubus chamaemorus , Rubus spectabilis , and Empetrum nigrum) were screened for bioactivity through a community-participatory research method involving three geographically distinct tribal communities. Compositional analysis by HPLC and LC-MS(2) revealed substantial site-specific variation in anthocyanins (0.01-4.39 mg/g of FW) and proanthocyanidins (0.74-6.25 mg/g of FW) and identified A-type proanthocyanidin polymers. R. spectabilis increased expression levels of preadipocyte factor 1 (182%), and proanthocyanidin-enriched fractions from other species reduced lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Selected extracts reduced serum glucose levels in C57BL/6J mice by up to 45%. Local observations provided robust insights into effects of climatic fluctuations on berry abundance and quality, and preliminary site-specific compositional and bioactivity differences were noted, suggesting the need to monitor this Alaska Native resource as climate shifts affect the region.

Antimicrobial activity of several herb and spice extracts in culture medium and in vacuum-packaged pork.

Extracts prepared from honeysuckle, Scutellaria, Forsythia suspensa (Thunb), cinnamon, and rosemary with 75% ethanol and from clove oil dissolved in 75% ethanol were applied to inoculated agar media to observe their inhibitory effects on the growth of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Lactobacillus plantarum. All the extracts suppressed the growth of these bacteria; Scutellaria exhibited the strongest effect against E. coli. An orthogonal test revealed that the most effective antimicrobial composite extracts were equal-volume mixtures of 0.125 g/ml Scutellaria + 0.5 g/ml honeysuckle + 0.125 g/ml Forsythia + 0.25 g/ml cinnamon and 0.25 g/ml cinnamon + 0.125 g/ml rosemary + 0.25% clove oil. These mixed extracts also produced strong antimicrobial effects in vacuum-packaged fresh pork, with 1.81- to 2.32-log reductions in microbial counts compared with the control when stored for up to 28 days. The sensory panel detected minimal differences in surface color and off-odors between meat samples treated with herb-spice extracts and the control. These results indicate that combined herb and spice extracts can be used as natural antimicrobials for food preservation.