A Novel Approach to Pod Count Estimation Using a Depth Camera in Support of Soybean Breeding Applications.

Improving soybean (Glycine max L. (Merr.)) yield is crucial for strengthening national food security. Predicting soybean yield is essential to maximize the potential of crop varieties. Non-destructive methods are needed to estimate yield before crop maturity. Various approaches, including the pod-count method, have been used to predict soybean yield, but they often face issues with the crop background color. To address this challenge, we explored the application of a depth camera to real-time filtering of RGB images, aiming to enhance the performance of the pod-counting classification model. Additionally, this study aimed to compare object detection models (YOLOV7 and YOLOv7-E6E) and select the most suitable deep learning (DL) model for counting soybean pods. After identifying the best architecture, we conducted a comparative analysis of the model's performance by training the DL model with and without background removal from images. Results demonstrated that removing the background using a depth camera improved YOLOv7's pod detection performance by 10.2% precision, 16.4% recall, 13.8% mAP@50, and 17.7% mAP@0.5:0.95 score compared to when the background was present. Using a depth camera and the YOLOv7 algorithm for pod detection and counting yielded a mAP@0.5 of 93.4% and mAP@0.5:0.95 of 83.9%. These results indicated a significant improvement in the DL model's performance when the background was segmented, and a reasonably larger dataset was used to train YOLOv7.

Towards reducing chemical usage for weed control in agriculture using UAS imagery analysis and computer vision techniques.

Currently, applying uniform distribution of chemical herbicide through a sprayer without considering the spatial distribution information of crops and weeds is the most common method of controlling weeds in commercial agricultural production system. This kind of weed management practice lead to excessive amounts of chemical herbicides being applied in a given field. The objective of this study was to perform site-specific weed control (SSWC) in a corn field by: (1) using a unmanned aerial system (UAS) to map the spatial distribution information of weeds in the field; (2) creating a prescription map based on the weed distribution map, and (3) spraying the field using the prescription map and a commercial size sprayer. In this study, we assumed that plants growing outside the corn rows are weeds and they need to be controlled. The first step in implementing such an approach is identifying the corn rows. For that, we are proposing a Crop Row Identification algorithm, a computer vision algorithm that identifies corn rows on UAS imagery. After being identified, the corn rows were then removed from the imagery and remaining vegetation fraction was classified as weeds. Based on that information, a grid-based weed prescription map was created and the weed control application was implemented through a commercial-size sprayer. The decision of spraying herbicides on a particular grid was based on the presence of weeds in that grid cell. All the grids that contained at least one weed were sprayed, while the grids free of weeds were not. Using our SSWC approach, we were able to save 26.2% of the acreage from being sprayed with herbicide compared to the current method. This study presents a full workflow from UAS image collection to field weed control implementation using a commercial size sprayer, and it shows that some level of savings can potentially be obtained even in a situation with high weed infestation, which might provide an opportunity to reduce chemical usage in corn production systems.

Long-term stability in the circumpolar foraging range of a Southern Ocean predator between the eras of whaling and rapid climate change.

Assessing environmental changes in Southern Ocean ecosystems is difficult due to its remoteness and data sparsity. Monitoring marine predators that respond rapidly to environmental variation may enable us to track anthropogenic effects on ecosystems. Yet, many long-term datasets of marine predators are incomplete because they are spatially constrained and/or track ecosystems already modified by industrial fishing and whaling in the latter half of the 20th century. Here, we assess the contemporary offshore distribution of a wide-ranging marine predator, the southern right whale (SRW, Eubalaena australis), that forages on copepods and krill from ~30°S to the Antarctic ice edge (>60°S). We analyzed carbon and nitrogen isotope values of 1,002 skin samples from six genetically distinct SRW populations using a customized assignment approach that accounts for temporal and spatial variation in the Southern Ocean phytoplankton isoscape. Over the past three decades, SRWs increased their use of mid-latitude foraging grounds in the south Atlantic and southwest (SW) Indian oceans in the late austral summer and autumn and slightly increased their use of high-latitude (>60°S) foraging grounds in the SW Pacific, coincident with observed changes in prey distribution and abundance on a circumpolar scale. Comparing foraging assignments with whaling records since the 18th century showed remarkable stability in use of mid-latitude foraging areas. We attribute this consistency across four centuries to the physical stability of ocean fronts and resulting productivity in mid-latitude ecosystems of the Southern Ocean compared with polar regions that may be more influenced by recent climate change.

Light stimulation on tenocytes: A systematic review of in vitro studies.

The purpose of this systematic review is to analyze the methodologies, utilized stimulation parameters, and the main cellular outcomes obtained by in vitro studies that apply a light source on tenocyte cultures. Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched up to December 9, 2019 for in vitro studies that used light sources on tenocyte cultures. A 13-item checklist was used to assess methodological quality of the studies and the risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias Assessment tool for Non-randomized Studies tool. Results: Six studies were included. Tenocytes from the Achilles tendon were used by 83.3% of the studies, with 16.7% utilizing the deep digital flexor tendon, with cells in passage 2 to 5. Four studies used lasers and the other 2 used light-emitting diode or intense pulsed light, in wavelengths ranges from 530 to 1100 nm. The application of light to tenocytes resulted in positive effects reported by all studies, including an increase in cell proliferation and migration, and higher protein and gene expression of tendon biomarkers. Studies presented a lack of standardization on reporting light stimulation parameters and experimental methodologies, leading to low methodological quality. There was a high risk of selection, performance, detection, and reporting bias. Conclusions: All studies showed positive effects after light stimulation on tenocytes, regardless of the light source used. However, the lack of standardized data on light stimulation parameters, experimental setup, and the studies' main limitations hindered representative conclusions and comparisons amongst studies' main outcomes.

Molecular and biochemical characterization of Catharanthus roseus perivine-Nß-methyltransferase.

The biosynthesis of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids in Catharanthus roseus has been most extensively studied, leading to the detailed characterization of the pathway for the formation of their well-known anticancer alkaloids. The present study describes the identification, molecular cloning, and functional expression of C. roseus perivine-Nß-methyltransferase (PeNMT) that converts perivine to Nß-methylperivine (vobasine). PeNMT is member of a recently discovered γ-tocopherol-like N-methyltransferase (γ-TLMT) gene family that displays high substrate specificity and that appears to have evolved in the Vinceae tribe of Apocynaceae family where most N-methylated MIAs have been identified in the phytochemical literature.

Sensitivity Analysis of Various Geometries of PCD and Cemented Tungsten Carbide Cutting Tools during the Milling of GFRP Composite.

Although much research has been carried out in the field of the milling of GFRP (Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer) composites, the complexity of the process is such that it is still not mastered in many industrial cases. The current work is aimed at studying the influence of three different geometries of PCD (PolyCrystalline Diamond) and cemented tungsten carbide cutting tools during the up-milling of GFRP composites at fixed cutting conditions (vc = 502 m/min and vf = 420 mm/min). Delamination, cutting forces and tool wear are compared at the fresh and worn states, and the correlation between the lifespan and the cost of the cutting tool is analysed. The main wearing phase of the tools was performed under the conditions of production in the facilities of a company (Sobelcomp, Loncin, Belgium). The results indicate that the PCD tool with the straight edge, inclined peripheral tooth shape produces the smallest total cutting force and less delamination (shortest and lowest number of delaminated fibres) at both fresh and worn states. Moreover, the grinding ability of PCD makes the cutting tool cost per part lower than for cemented carbide. The PCD tool is therefore the best option to mill GFRP parts.

Enhancing Wheat Disease Diagnosis in a Greenhouse Using Image Deep Features and Parallel Feature Fusion.

Since the assessment of wheat diseases (e.g., leaf rust and tan spot) via visual observation is subjective and inefficient, this study focused on developing an automatic, objective, and efficient diagnosis approach. For each plant, color, and color-infrared (CIR) images were collected in a paired mode. An automatic approach based on the image processing technique was developed to crop the paired images to have the same region, after which a developed semiautomatic webtool was used to expedite the dataset creation. The webtool generated the dataset from either image and automatically built the corresponding dataset from the other image. Each image was manually categorized into one of the three groups: control (disease-free), disease light, and disease severity. After the image segmentation, handcrafted features (HFs) were extracted from each format of images, and disease diagnosis results demonstrated that the parallel feature fusion had higher accuracy over features from either type of image. Performance of deep features (DFs) extracted through different deep learning (DL) models (e.g., AlexNet, VGG16, ResNet101, GoogLeNet, and Xception) on wheat disease detection was compared, and those extracted by ResNet101 resulted in the highest accuracy, perhaps because deep layers extracted finer features. In addition, parallel deep feature fusion generated a higher accuracy over DFs from a single-source image. DFs outperformed HFs in wheat disease detection, and the DFs coupled with parallel feature fusion resulted in diagnosis accuracies of 75, 84, and 71% for leaf rust, tan spot, and leaf rust + tan spot, respectively. The methodology developed directly for greenhouse applications, to be used by plant pathologists, breeders, and other users, can be extended to field applications with future tests on field data and model fine-tuning.

Portuguese higher education students' adaptation to online teaching and learning in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: personal and contextual factors.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a global crisis affecting all sectors of society. Higher education is no exception. The closure of higher education institutions has dictated a sudden and unexpected transition from face-to-face to remote teaching to mitigate the spread of the SARS-CoV-2. This paper draws upon a wider piece of research which aimed to understand how higher education students adapted to the closure of their institution and how they looked at their experience of online teaching and learning. In total, 2718 students from different Portuguese higher education institutions participated in the study. Findings showed that both personal and contextual factors explained students' positive or negative adaptation to online teaching and learning as a result of the closure of higher education institutions. Institutional and pedagogical responses, individual self-regulatory and socio-emotional competencies and adequate resources were factors that led to either a more positive or negative student experience of online teaching and learning in times of COVID-19.

EORNA, a barley gene and transcript abundance database.

A high-quality, barley gene reference transcript dataset (BaRTv1.0), was used to quantify gene and transcript abundances from 22 RNA-seq experiments, covering 843 separate samples. Using the abundance data we developed a Barley Expression Database (EORNA*) to underpin a visualisation tool that displays comparative gene and transcript abundance data on demand as transcripts per million (TPM) across all samples and all the genes. EORNA provides gene and transcript models for all of the transcripts contained in BaRTV1.0, and these can be conveniently identified through either BaRT or HORVU gene names, or by direct BLAST of query sequences. Browsing the quantification data reveals cultivar, tissue and condition specific gene expression and shows changes in the proportions of individual transcripts that have arisen via alternative splicing. TPM values can be easily extracted to allow users to determine the statistical significance of observed transcript abundance variation among samples or perform meta analyses on multiple RNA-seq experiments. * Eòrna is the Scottish Gaelic word for Barley.

Obesity effects on muscular activity during lifting and lowering tasks.

Obesity is an emerging health problem and its incidence has been increasing throughout the workforce. In industrial workstations, vertical handling tasks (VHT), including lifting and lowering, are very common and can cause a significant muscular overload for the involved workers. During these tasks, muscular activity may be considerably affected by workers' body conditions. This study aims to analyze and compare the muscular activity in subjects with different obesity levels, using surface electromyography (EMG), during predefined VHT. Six different VHT (combining 5, 10 and 15-kg loads with two task styles) were performed. EMG data normalization was based on the percentage of maximum contraction during each task (MCT%). The results show that obesity influences the MCT%, which in turn increases the muscular effort during VHT. The current investigation demonstrates that obesity is a relevant musculoskeletal risk factor regarding VHT. The engineering analysis and design implications of this work can thus be perceived.

The northernmost haulout site of South American sea lions and fur seals in the western South Atlantic.

We present estimates of the seasonal and spatial occupation by pinnipeds of the Wildlife Refuge of Ilha dos Lobos (WRIL), based on aerial photographic censuses. Twenty aerial photographic censuses were analysed between July 2010 and November 2018. To assess monthly differences in the numbers of pinnipeds in the WRIL we used a Generalized Linear Mixed Model. Spatial analysis was carried out using Kernel density analysis of the pinnipeds on a grid plotted along the WRIL. Subadult male South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) were the most abundant pinniped in the WRIL. Potential females of this species were also recorded during half of the census. The maximum number of pinnipeds observed in the WRIL was 304 in September 2018, including an unexpected individual southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), and a high number of South American fur seal yearlings (Arctocephalus australis). However, there was no statistically significant difference in counts between months. In all months analysed, pinnipeds were most often found concentrated in the northern portion of the island, with the highest abundances reported in September. This study confirms the importance of the WRIL as a haulout site for pinnipeds in Brazil, recommends that land research and recreational activities occur in months when no pinnipeds are present, and encourages a regulated marine mammal-based tourism during winter and spring months.

Animal-borne tags provide insights into the acoustic communication of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) on the calving grounds.

This study investigated the repertoire, call-type variability and call rates of southern right whales on a calving ground off Brazil in the western South Atlantic. Acoustic tag data were collected from four lactating females and one juvenile. Pulsive, hybrid, and upcalls showed the greatest variability among call-types with up to 23% of non-standard forms detected. Quiet sounds (grunt, single, and double pulse) were detected for the first time in this species on the calving grounds. Although the sample size was limited, results suggest that social interaction increased call-type diversity and call rates, in line with other acoustic studies on right whales.

Computational Modelling of the Bioheat Transfer Process in Human Skin Subjected to Direct Heating and/or Cooling Sources: A Systematic Review.

The purpose of this systematic review is to analyze characteristics and methodologies utilized in bioheat transfer models of human skin to provide state-of-the-art knowledge on the topic. This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases were searched up to May 30th, 2019 for bioheat transfer models focusing on direct contact between skin and temperature (heat and/or cold) source. Ten studies were included. A 16-item checklist was used to assess their methodological quality. Four studies analyzed healthy skin and six included pathological conditions. All determined skin's thermal behavior, and studies including pathological conditions also analyzed burn damage. Studies did not present a wide variety of mathematical formulation, emphasizing on modelling equations of well-established models from the literature, such as the Pennes' bioheat transfer equation, and the Henriques and Moritz model to quantify skin damage. Reporting of modelling characteristics and formulation of the computational models is not standardized and there is shortage of implementation of validation procedures, hindering representative conclusions. The lack of validation procedures led to low methodological quality. However, all studies provided strategies and parameters as starting points for future developments in this research area.

Genetic Diversity and Connectivity of Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis) Found in the Brazil and Chile-Peru Wintering Grounds and the South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur) Feeding Ground.

As species recover from exploitation, continued assessments of connectivity and population structure are warranted to provide information for conservation and management. This is particularly true in species with high dispersal capacity, such as migratory whales, where patterns of connectivity could change rapidly. Here we build on a previous long-term, large-scale collaboration on southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) to combine new (nnew) and published (npub) mitochondrial (mtDNA) and microsatellite genetic data from all major wintering grounds and, uniquely, the South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur: SG) feeding grounds. Specifically, we include data from Argentina (npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 208/46), Brazil (nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 50/50), South Africa (nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 66/77, npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 350/47), Chile-Peru (nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 1/1), the Indo-Pacific (npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 769/126), and SG (npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 8/0, nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 3/11) to investigate the position of previously unstudied habitats in the migratory network: Brazil, SG, and Chile-Peru. These new genetic data show connectivity between Brazil and Argentina, exemplified by weak genetic differentiation and the movement of 1 genetically identified individual between the South American grounds. The single sample from Chile-Peru had an mtDNA haplotype previously only observed in the Indo-Pacific and had a nuclear genotype that appeared admixed between the Indo-Pacific and South Atlantic, based on genetic clustering and assignment algorithms. The SG samples were clearly South Atlantic and were more similar to the South American than the South African wintering grounds. This study highlights how international collaborations are critical to provide context for emerging or recovering regions, like the SG feeding ground, as well as those that remain critically endangered, such as Chile-Peru.

Thermo-Mechanical Behaviour of Human Nasal Cartilage.

The aim of this study was to undergo a comprehensive analysis of the thermo-mechanical properties of nasal cartilages for the future design of a composite polymeric material to be used in human nose reconstruction surgery. A thermal and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) in tension and compression modes within the ranges 1 to 20 Hz and 30 °C to 250 °C was performed on human nasal cartilage. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), as well as characterization of the nasal septum (NS), upper lateral cartilages (ULC), and lower lateral cartilages (LLC) reveals the different nature of the binding water inside the studied specimens. Three peaks at 60-80 °C, 100-130 °C, and 200 °C were attributed to melting of the crystalline region of collagen matrix, water evaporation, and the strongly bound non-interstitial water in the cartilage and composite specimens, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the degradation of cartilage, composite, and subcutaneous tissue of the NS, ULC, and LLC take place in three thermal events (~37 °C, ~189 °C, and ~290 °C) showing that cartilage releases more water and more rapidly than the subcutaneous tissue. The water content of nasal cartilage was estimated to be 42 wt %. The results of the DMA analyses demonstrated that tensile mode is ruled by flow-independent behaviour produced by the time-dependent deformability of the solid cartilage matrix that is strongly frequency-dependent, showing an unstable crystalline region between 80-180 °C, an amorphous region at around 120 °C, and a clear glass transition point at 200 °C (780 kJ/mol). Instead, the unconfined compressive mode is clearly ruled by a flow-dependent process caused by the frictional force of the interstitial fluid that flows within the cartilage matrix resulting in higher stiffness (from 12 MPa at 1 Hz to 16 MPa at 20 Hz in storage modulus). The outcomes of this study will support the development of an artificial material to mimic the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the natural cartilage of the human nose.

A new device for patellofemoral instrumented stress-testing provides good reliability and validity.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the reliability of an instrumented patellofemoral (PF) stress-testing-the Porto Patellofemoral Testing Device (PPTD)-and validate the instrumented assessment method comparing to manual physical examination. METHODS: Eight asymptomatic volunteers underwent bilateral PF-instrumented examination with the PPTD and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess intra-rater reliability of the instrumented assessment methodology. Six patients with unilateral PF instability underwent physical examination and PPTD concomitantly with MRI. Manual examination was performed by two blinded surgeons and compared with PPTD test. Ligament stiffness was calculated and compared between injured and non-injured lower limbs. RESULTS: PPTD showed a pre-determined and reproducible stress-force application with excellent intra-rater agreement (intra-class correlation coefficient 0.83-0.98). The manual exam was imprecise with variable examiner-dependent stress-force application. The PPTD resulted in greater lateral patellar translation (converted in quadrants) than manual exam for patients that have reached maximum translation force. Measurement of patellar position and displacement using PPTD was more accurate and precise than the visual estimation of translated quadrants by manual exam. Ligament stiffness curves showed no relevant changes in patellar displacement after 62 N. CONCLUSION: The PPTD instrumented stress-testing is a valid device to quantify PF position and displacement with high intra-rater reliability, showing more accuracy, more precision and less variability than physical examination. This device provides an accurate and objective measure to quantify the patellar movement which can augment the physical examination procedures and assist clinicians in the management of decision-making and in the assessment of post-treatment outcomes of PF pathological conditions.

Unilateral anterior knee pain is associated with increased patellar lateral position after stressed lateral translation.

PURPOSE: To objectively compare side-to-side patellar position and mobility in patients with idiopathic unilateral anterior knee pain (AKP) using a stress-testing device concomitantly with magnetic resonance imaging. It is hypothesized that the painful knees present greater patellar mobility than the contralateral non-painful knees. METHODS: From a total sample of 359 patients, 23 patients with idiopathic unilateral AKP (30.9 years, 23.4 kg/m2, 43% males) were included within the present study. Both knees of all the patients were examined by conventional imaging, including the measurement of trochlear sulcus angle, Caton-Deschamps index, tibial tuberosity to trochlear groove distance, patellar tilt angle and patellar subluxation (both at rest and upon quadriceps contraction). Additionally, the same patients underwent stress testing (Porto Patella Testing Device); these measurements were taken with the patella at rest, after lateral patellar translation and after lateral patellar tilt. Clinical and functional outcomes were obtained using physical examination and the Kujala and Lysholm scores. RESULTS: Painful knees showed statistically significant higher patellar lateral position after stressed lateral translation than non-painful knees (p = 0.028), 9.8 ± 3.6 mm and 7.1 ± 6.3 mm, respectively. The adjusted multivariate logistic model identified the patellar position after lateral displacement to be significantly associated with AKP (OR = 1.165) and the model (AUC = 0.807, p < 0.001) showed reasonable sensitivity (67%) and specificity (73%). CONCLUSION: Patients with idiopathic unilateral AKP with morphologically equivalent knees showed statistically significant increased patellar lateral position after stressed lateral displacement in their painful knee. The greater lateral patellar mobility quantified by the PPTD testing brings more objectivity to the diagnosis. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

BaRTv1.0: an improved barley reference transcript dataset to determine accurate changes in the barley transcriptome using RNA-seq.

BACKGROUND: The time required to analyse RNA-seq data varies considerably, due to discrete steps for computational assembly, quantification of gene expression and splicing analysis. Recent fast non-alignment tools such as Kallisto and Salmon overcome these problems, but these tools require a high quality, comprehensive reference transcripts dataset (RTD), which are rarely available in plants. RESULTS: A high-quality, non-redundant barley gene RTD and database (Barley Reference Transcripts - BaRTv1.0) has been generated. BaRTv1.0, was constructed from a range of tissues, cultivars and abiotic treatments and transcripts assembled and aligned to the barley cv. Morex reference genome (Mascher et al. Nature; 544: 427-433, 2017). Full-length cDNAs from the barley variety Haruna nijo (Matsumoto et al. Plant Physiol; 156: 20-28, 2011) determined transcript coverage, and high-resolution RT-PCR validated alternatively spliced (AS) transcripts of 86 genes in five different organs and tissue. These methods were used as benchmarks to select an optimal barley RTD. BaRTv1.0-Quantification of Alternatively Spliced Isoforms (QUASI) was also made to overcome inaccurate quantification due to variation in 5' and 3' UTR ends of transcripts. BaRTv1.0-QUASI was used for accurate transcript quantification of RNA-seq data of five barley organs/tissues. This analysis identified 20,972 significant differentially expressed genes, 2791 differentially alternatively spliced genes and 2768 transcripts with differential transcript usage. CONCLUSION: A high confidence barley reference transcript dataset consisting of 60,444 genes with 177,240 transcripts has been generated. Compared to current barley transcripts, BaRTv1.0 transcripts are generally longer, have less fragmentation and improved gene models that are well supported by splice junction reads. Precise transcript quantification using BaRTv1.0 allows routine analysis of gene expression and AS.

Effects of workers' Body Mass Index and task conditions on exertion psychophysics during Vertical Handling Tasks.

BACKGROUND: Obesity prevalence in the workforce is clearly increasing. Simultaneously, manual lifting/lowering loads, referred to as Vertical Handling Tasks (VHT) in this paper, are common in industries and services. Performing VHT exposes workers to physical overload, which can be measured using a psychophysical approach. Various risk factors can increase this overload, including individual factors such as workers' Body Mass Index (BMI). OBJECTIVE: To study the possible effects of workers' BMI and some task conditions on physical overload during VHT. METHODS: Psychophysical data were collected from 51 participants having different body constitutions (including non-obese, overweight and obese). The participants performed 6 VHT (3 different loads ×2 workstation configurations), during which they lifted and lowered a test-box between their knees and shoulders. For each task, they reported their perceived exertion using the Borg Category Ratio-10 (CR-10) scale. RESULTS: The results showed that the CR-10 scale is sensitive to the variation of the task conditions tested. However, the psychophysical data pointed to a tendency to decrease the perception of physical overload as workers' BMI increases. CONCLUSIONS: This may compromise the validity of the application of psychophysical data as an ergonomic approach for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMSD) prevention in obese workers.