Evaluation of droplet deposition parameters based on the Genetic-Otsu algorithm.

Pesticide spraying is a cost-effective way to control crop pests and diseases. The effectiveness of this method relies on the deposition and distribution of the spray droplets within the targeted application area. There is a critical need for an accurate and stable detection algorithm to evaluate the liquid droplet deposition parameters on the water-sensitive paper (WSP) and reduce the impact of image noise. This study acquired 90 WSP samples with diverse coverage through field spraying experiments. The droplets on the WSP were subsequently isolated, and the coverage and density were computed, employing the fixed threshold method, the Otsu threshold method, and our Genetic-Otsu threshold method. Based on the benchmark of manually measured data, an error analysis was conducted on the accuracy of three methods, and a comprehensive evaluation was carried out. The relative error results indicate that the Genetic-Otsu method proposed in this research demonstrates superior performance in detecting droplet coverage and density. The relative errors of droplet density in the sparse, medium, and dense droplet groups are 2.7%, 1.5%, and 2.0%, respectively. The relative errors of droplet coverage are 1.5%, 0.88%, and 1.2%, respectively. These results demonstrate that the Genetic-Otsu algorithm outperforms the other two algorithms. The proposed algorithm effectively identifies small-sized droplets and accurately distinguishes the multiple independent contours of adjacent droplets even in dense droplet groups, demonstrating excellent performance. Overall, the Genetic-Otsu algorithm offered a reliable solution for detecting droplet deposition parameters on WSP, providing an efficient tool for evaluating droplet deposition parameters in UAV pesticide spraying applications.

Tank-Mix Adjuvants Enhance Pesticide Efficacy by Improving Physicochemical Properties and Spraying Characteristics for Application to Cotton with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

Tank-mix adjuvants have been used to reduce spray drift and facilitate the efficacy of pesticides applied with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, the effects of specific adjuvants on pesticide characteristics and the mechanism of action remain unclear. Herein, we analyzed the effects of three different types of tank-mix adjuvants (plant oil; mineral oil; and mixture of alcohol and ester) on the surface tension (ST), contact angle, wetting, permeation, evaporation, spray performance, and aphid-control effects of two types of pesticides. The mineral oil adjuvant Weichi (WCH) was highly effective in reducing the pesticide solution ST, improving the wetting and penetration ability, increasing droplet size, and promoting droplet deposition. The mixed alcohol and ester adjuvant Quanrun (QR) showed excellent wetting and antievaporation properties and promoted droplet deposition. A plant oil adjuvant (Beidatong) moderately improved wetting and penetration ability and reduced droplet drift. Field tests showed that the control efficiencies (CEs) of two pesticides were increased after the addition of adjuvants, even with 20% reductions in pesticide application. When the UAV was operated at 1.5 m, the CEs of two pesticides were increased from 65.39 and 66.63% to 73.11-76.52% and 77.91-88.31%, respectively. When operated at 2.5 m, the CEs were increased from 51.24 and 68.60% to 65.06-75.70% and 77.57-92.59%, respectively. Especially, the CEs of pesticides with WCH and QR increased obviously. Importantly, neither WCH nor QR inhibited hatching of the critical insect natural enemy ladybird beetle at concentrations used in the field. This study provides a framework for assessment of tank-mix adjuvants in aerial sprays and directly demonstrates the value of specific adjuvants in improving pesticide bioavailability and minimizing associated environmental pollution.

How tank-mix adjuvant type and concentration influence the contact angle on wheat leaf surface.

Currently, the utilization of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for spraying pesticides is a prevalent issue in Asian countries. Improving the pesticide efficiency of UAV spraying is a major challenge for researchers. One of the factors that affect the efficiency is the wetting property of the spraying solutions on crop leaves. Tank-mix adjuvants, which can modify the wetting ability of the solutions, are often used for foliar application. However, different types and concentrations of tank-mix adjuvants may have different impacts on the wetting properties of droplets. In this article, we investigated the effects of four tank-mix adjuvants, Beidatong (BDT), Velezia Pro (VP), Nongjianfei (NJF), and Lieying (LY), on the dynamic contact angle (CA) values of droplets on the adaxial surface of wheat leaves. We measured the dynamic CA values of various concentrations of each adjuvant solution and determined the optimal concentrations based on the CA values, droplet spreading time, and cost. The results showed that adding any of the four adjuvants decreased the CA values, but the patterns of decrease varied among them. The CAs of BDT and VP solutions decreased slowly during the observation time (0-8.13 s), while those of NJF and LY solutions decreased rapidly throughout the observation period. According to the dynamic CA values of different concentrations, the optimal concentrations of BDT, VP, NJF, and LY for wheat field application were 12%, 16%, 6‰, and 0.3‰, respectively. Alkoxy-modified polytrisiloxane adjuvant (LY) could be recommended as an appropriate tank-mix adjuvant for wheat field application, considering spreading efficiency and cost. This study provides theoretical and practical guidance for selecting and optimizing tank-mix adjuvants for UAV spraying.

Successful Fabrication of Hydrophobic Surfaces of Microstructures Cooperating with Solid-Liquid Nanomaterials on the CuZnPb Alloy Substrate.

For protecting the exquisite structural patterns of such coins, developments of simple preparation methods were explored to achieve good hydrophobic capability and the wear-damage resistance of CuZnPb surfaces. A self-cleaning nanoliquid (SN) was combined with microstructured Ag-dispersed CuZnPb (MAC) to realize good hydrophobicity functions of the SNMAC. This was because the cooperative functions of silver and the SN enhanced the water reunion ability and increased solid-liquid-gas contact areas, leading to high contact angles of SNMAC. Their cooperations produced discrepant forces in their respective areas of the water drops and increased heterogeneous flowing, resulting in a high-angle hysteresis of SNMAC. Subsequently, the wear-damage resistance of the hydrophobic interface was measured in a ball-on-flat tribopair system, and the results showed that sliding injuries made a height distribution of the hydrophobic surface trend toward an equalization, allowing the cooperation of nano-silver, SN, and CuZnPb to form a new-style interface for achieving excellent hydrophobicity, thus producing the highest contact angles of the SNMAC among the as-prepared samples.

Droplet distribution in cotton canopy using single-rotor and four-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely used as the sprayers for low-volume pesticide application in recent years. Droplet distribution characteristics of UAV spraying in the cotton canopy have notable effect on the biological control efficacy of the targets and the defoliation efficiency of the harvest aids. In this work, the influences on droplet distribution in the cotton canopy with respect to the flight height, forward mode, and spraying volume were evaluated by conducting the field trials during two cotton growth stages in 2020, respectively. The first field trial was performed in the cotton flowering stage and the second one was conducted in the early boll development stage. Two typical UAVs equipped with a single-rotor and four-rotor, respectively, were adopted as the spraying platforms in this work. Droplet deposition obtained by water sensitive papers (WSPs) clipped on the cotton leaves was considered as the observing metric. All cotton leaves in the canopy were divided into three groups (i.e., upper, middle, and bottom layers) in both trials. Furthermore, the cotton canopy was divided as eight directions to assess the droplet distribution in the canopy from different directions. The results showed that the droplet deposition varied remarkable between the treatments and in the same canopy within a treatment. The upper layer obtained higher droplet deposition than those of the middle and bottom layers and plants P4 to P8 accessed more droplets than those of the remaining sampling plants in most treatments of both trials for the two UAVs. The upper layer droplet deposition of the four-rotor UAV treatments outperformed that of the single-rotor treatments under the same operating parameters. The forward modes rarely affected the droplet distribution of the four-rotor UAV treatments but significantly influenced that of the single-rotor UAV treatments. For the single-rotor UAV spraying with "head forward", the droplet distribution of the treatment with a flight height of 2 m was more even than that of the 1 and 3 m in the first trial. Under the same flight height, droplet deposition of the treatments with a spraying volume of 22.5 L ha-1 was remarkably higher than that of the 12 L ha-1 for both forward modes in the second trial. "Tail forward" of the single-rotor UAV treatment had better penetration at a flight height of 2 m in both trials. Therefore, for the single-rotor UAV, under a flight height of 2 m and a spraying volume of 22.5 L ha-1, "tail forward" was recommended for applying pesticides to control targets at the lower canopy and "head forward" was a better choice for harvest aid application. Four-rotor UAV was a suitable adoption for the harvest aid application and controlling the targets of the upper canopy. The results also indicate that the systemic pesticides are recommended for UAV spraying due to its uneven droplet distribution uniformity in the whole cotton canopy.

UAV spraying on citrus crop: impact of tank-mix adjuvant on the contact angle and droplet distribution.

Adding tank-mix adjuvants into the spray mixture is a common practice to improve droplet distribution for field crops (e.g., rice, wheat, corn, etc.) when using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sprayers. However, the effectiveness of tank-mix adjuvant for UAV spraying in orchard crops is still an open problem, considering their special canopy structure and leaf features. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a typical tank-mix adjuvant concentrations (i.e., Nong Jian Fei (NJF)) on Contact Angle (CA) and droplet distribution in the citrus tree canopy. Three commonly used parameters, namely dynamic CA, droplet coverage, and Volume Median Diameter (VMD), are adopted for performance evaluation. The dynamic CAs on the adaxial surface of citrus leaves, for water-only and NJF-presence sprays, respectively, are measured with five concentration levels, where three replications are performed for each concentration. The sprays with 0.5‰ NJF are adopted in the field experiment for evaluating droplet distributions, where Water Sensitive Papers (WSPs) are used as collectors. Two multi-rotor UAVs (DJI T20 and T30) which consist of different sizes of pesticide tanks and rotor diameters are used as the spraying platforms. Both water-only and NJF-presence treatments are conducted for the two UAVs, respectively. The results of the CA experiment show that NJF addition can significantly reduce the CAs of the sprays. The sprays with 0.5‰ NJF obtain the lowest CA within the observing time, suggesting a better spread ability on solid surface (e.g., WSPs or/and leaves). With respect to the effects of NJF addition on individual UAVs, the field trial results indicate that NJF addition can remarkably increase both the droplet coverage and VMD at three canopy layers, except for T30 droplet coverage of the inside and bottom layers. Comparing the difference of droplet coverage between two UAVs, while significant difference is found in the same layer before NJF addition, there is no notable difference appearing in the outside and bottom layers after NJF addition. The difference of VMD in the same layer between two UAVs is not affected by NJF addition except for the bottom layer. These results imply that the differences of droplet coverage among different UAVs might be mitigated, thus the droplet distribution of some UAVs could be improved by adding a tank-mix adjuvant into the sprays. This hypothesis is verified by investigating the droplet penetration and the correlation coefficient (CC) of droplet coverage and VMD. After NJF addition, the total percentage of T20 droplet coverage in the bottom and inside layers is increased by 5%. For both UAVs, the CCs indicate that both droplet coverage and VMD increase at the same time in most cases after NJF addition. In conclusion, the addition of a tank-mix adjuvant with the ability to reduce CA of the sprays, can effectively improve droplet distribution using UAV spraying in the citrus canopy by increasing droplet coverage and VMD.

Physicochemical, pharmacologic, and in vitro cellular effects of loading collagen membranes with zoledronic acid.

PURPOSE: There is a need for improved methods of reducing peri-implant bone loss. This study evaluated the structural, drug loading, drug release, and in vitro characteristics of collagen membranes impregnated with zoledronic acid (ZA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two commercially available collagen barrier membranes (Bio-Gide and BME-10X) were loaded with ZA. The physicochemical and pharmacologic properties of the membranes were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and high-performance liquid chromatography. The ZA-loaded membrane's inhibition of osteoclasts and promotion of osteoblast growth was evaluated in vitro at ZA concentrations of 0, 10(-4), 10(-3), and 10(-2) mol/L. RESULTS: The disappearance of micropores between Bio-Gide collagen fibers and the formation of crystalloids on the surface of BME-10X membranes following ZA loading was evident under the microscope. Phosphorus was detected on the membranes, and amide shifts were observed. Greater amounts of ZA loading and slower ZA release were evident for Bio-Gide membranes. Osteoclast numbers were reduced with ZA, and a corresponding decrease in bone resorption was evident at higher ZA concentrations (P < .05). After 7 days, at a ZA concentration of 10(-3) mol/L, Bio-Gide membranes had an increased osteoblast proliferation index, while both types of membranes displayed increased alkaline phosphatase expression. CONCLUSION: Collagen membranes loaded with ZA provided delayed drug release. This study may offer a novel therapeutic strategy for minimizing peri-implant bone resorption.

[Developments in research of local bisphosphonate delivery system of implant denture].

Dental implant is an advanced prosthodontic treatment widely accepted by patients with missing tooth. However, peri-implant bone loss is still an important reason which limits wider application of the implants to a certain extent. Bisphosphonates is an osteoclastic bone resorption inhibitor that is widely used in clinical practice with the function of inhibiting bone resorption and increasing bone density. As the defect of systemic BPs treatment, local application of BPs in implant has become a research hotspot recently. Calcium phosphate ceramics, polylactic acid, fibrinogen film and collagen membrane have been reported as BPs carriers. This article summarizes the researches on the mechanism of bone regulation and local delivering system of BPs.

[Study on the effects of zoledronic-acid-loaded collagen membrane on bone metabolism cells].

OBJECTIVE: To develop zoledronic acid (ZA)-loaded collagen membranes, and to study its effect on osteoclast and osteoblast so as to investigate whether ZA-loaded membranes can inhibit local bone resorption and promote bone formation. METHODS: ZA-loaded double-layer (Bio-Gide(®)) and single-layer (BME-10X(®)) collagen membranes were prepared and divided into eight groups according to the concentrations of ZA in the membrane, namely Group BG0, BG1, BG2, BG3 and BM0, BM1, BM2, BM3 (BG refers to Bio-Gide(®), BM refers to BME-10X(®), 0, 1, 2, 3 refer to the concentrations of ZA, 0, 1 × 10(-4), 1 × 10(-3), 1 × 10(-2) mol/L respectively). Blank control group was set without using collagen membrane. The effects of ZA-loaded membranes on osteoclast and osteoblast were assessed using in vitro cell culture models. RESULTS: In vitro coculture of ZA-loaded membrane with osteoclast for seven days showed that the percentage of bone resorption area in BG1, BG2, BG3, BM1, BM2, BM3 were 18.80%, 14.75%, 14.28%, 20.51%, 15.77%, 15.12% respectively, which were lower than that in BG0 (31.53%) and BM0 (32.22%, P < 0.05), and the higher ZA loading was, the stronger its inhibition to osteoclast was. In vitro coculture of ZA-loaded membrane with osteoblast for four days indicated that alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities in BG2 (154.67 U/g), BM2 (154.33 U/g), BG3 (155.33 U/g), BM3 (152.00 U/g) were higher than that in BG0 (129.33 U/g) and BM0 (127.67 U/g, P < 0.05). What's more, results from seven-day coculture showed that proliferation index in BG2 (7.00) was higher than that in BG0 (6.90). CONCLUSIONS: ZA-loaded collagen membrane can not only inhibit osteoclastic bone resorption but also improve proliferation of osteoblast.

[Preparation of zoledronic-acid-loaded collagen membrane].

OBJECTIVE: To develop a new local delivery system, osteoclastic-inhibitor-loaded collagen membrane, and to evaluate its drug loading and drug release properties. METHODS: Efforts were made to develop the drug-loaded membranes by combining two commercially available collagen barrier membranes (Bio-Gide and BME-10X) with zoledronic acid (ZA). The physicochemical and pharmacological properties of resulting materials were determined using SEM, EDS, FTIR, and HPLC. RESULTS: After ZA loading, the micropores between the thin collagen fibers in the Bio-Gide disappeared, whereas crystalloid powders appeared on the surface of pore walls in BME-10X. Phosphorus was detected on both drug-loaded membranes. The Amides shifted. With the same drug solution, Bio-Gide presented larger amount of ZA loading and slower ZA release than BME-10X. ZA loading did not affect the 3D fiber network and the degradation of membranes. CONCLUSION: Both collagen membranes load ZA successfully and delay drug release. But Bio-Gide shows higher loading values and slower release than BME-10X.