Research on the relationship between reduced scattering coefficient and intracranial pressure in brain edema model

Intracranial hypertension is a serious threat to the health of neurosurgical patients. At present, there is a lack of a safe and effective technology to monitor intracranial pressure (ICP) accurately and nondestructively. In this paper, based on near infrared technology, the continuous nondestructive monitoring of ICP change caused by brain edema was studied. The rat brain edema models were constructed by lipopolysaccharide. The ICP monitor and the self-made near infrared tissue parameter measuring instrument were used to monitor the invasive intracranial pressure and the reduced scattering coefficient of brain tissue during the brain edema development. The results showed that there was a negative correlation between the reduced scattering coefficient (690[Formula: see text]nm and 834[Formula: see text]nm) and ICP, and then the mathematical model was established. The experimental results promoted the development of nondestructive ICP monitoring based on near infrared technology.

Nondestructive Monitoring of Soft Bottom Fish and Habitats Using a Standardized, Remote and Unbaited 360° Video Sampling Method

Lagoon soft-bottoms are key habitats within coral reef seascapes. Coral reef fish use these habitats as nurseries, feeding grounds and transit areas. At present, most soft-bottom sampling methods are destructive (trawling, longlining, hook and line). We developed a remote, unbaited 360° video sampling method (RUV360) to monitor fish species assemblages in soft bottoms. A low-cost, high-definition camera enclosed in a waterproof housing and fixed on a tripod was set on the sea floor in New Caledonia from a boat. Then, 534 videos were recorded to assess the efficiency of the RUV360. The technique was successful in sampling bare soft-bottoms, seagrass beds, macroalgae meadows and mixed soft-bottoms. It is easy to use and particularly efficient, i.e., 88% of the stations were sampled successfully. We observed 10,007 fish belonging to 172 species, including 45 species targeted by fishermen in New Caledonia, as well as many key species. The results are consistent with the known characteristics of the lagoon soft bottom fish assemblages of New Caledonia. We provide future users with general recommendations and reference plots to estimate the proportion of the theoretical total species richness sampled, according to the number of stations or the duration of the footage.

Simulated Lamb wave propagation method for nondestructive monitoring of matrix cracking in laminated composites

The estimation of the damping coefficient may help to improve the damage detection in composite materials. The purpose of this study was to develop the simulated Lamb wave propagation method for nondestructive monitoring of matrix cracking in laminated composites via the accurate estimation of their damping coefficient. Cross-ply composite specimens with different crack densities were fabricated and tested by the Lamb wave propagation technique. The phase velocity of the Lamb wave and the damping coefficient of the specimens were measured. The finite element models were developed at micro-scale (representative volume elements) and macro-scale (laminated specimens) levels to simulate the Lamb wave propagation in composite specimens. An optimization process was performed through the model updating procedure to achieve finite element models that were in good agreement with experiments. The phase velocity and damping coefficient, obtained from the updated FE models for two crack densities other than those used in the model updating procedure, were successfully examined by experimental results. It was also revealed that the damping coefficient and the rate of increase in the damping coefficient in terms of the crack density were higher for the composite laminates with a higher number of 90° layers. The damping of the fiber–matrix interphase and crack regions were considered in the model and shown as a significant contribution to the overall damping of the composite specimens. The proposed simulated Lamb wave propagation method can be used as a virtual lab for in-situ monitoring of laminated composites with different material properties, stacking sequences, and crack densities.

Applications of UAS in Crop Biomass Monitoring: A Review

Biomass is an important indicator for evaluating crops. The rapid, accurate and nondestructive monitoring of biomass is the key to smart agriculture and precision agriculture. Traditional detection methods are based on destructive measurements. Although satellite remote sensing, manned airborne equipment, and vehicle-mounted equipment can nondestructively collect measurements, they are limited by low accuracy, poor flexibility, and high cost. As nondestructive remote sensing equipment with high precision, high flexibility, and low-cost, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have been widely used to monitor crop biomass. In this review, UAS platforms and sensors, biomass indices, and data analysis methods are presented. The improvements of UAS in monitoring crop biomass in recent years are introduced, and multisensor fusion, multi-index fusion, the consideration of features not directly related to monitoring biomass, the adoption of advanced algorithms and the use of low-cost sensors are reviewed to highlight the potential for monitoring crop biomass with UAS. Considering the progress made to solve this type of problem, we also suggest some directions for future research. Furthermore, it is expected that the challenge of UAS promotion will be overcome in the future, which is conducive to the realization of smart agriculture and precision agriculture.

AquaBOL.SK - how far have we come with the Slovak reference barcode database since DNAqua-Net was launched?

Essential for implementation of molecular tools in bioassessments are comprehensive databases with high-quality reference DNA sequence data. A recent survey arising from the DNAqua-Net EU COST Action WG1 has revealed significant gaps in the barcode reference data of aquatic biota both on a taxonomic and a geographical level (Weigand 2019). Although reference barcode libraries of all main freshwater groups are continuously improved through a number of national DNA-barcoding campaigns, still little data is available from Central and Eastern Europe. In Slovakia, the barcode coverage of the aquatic biota was very low when DNAqua-Net started. At the end of 2016 only 165 public records (60 OTUs) were available in BOLD (< 3 % of aquatic macroinvertebrates reported from Slovakia), and most of them were mined from GenBank. This led us to launch the campaign “Barcoding aquatic biota of Slovakia” (www.AquaBOL.SK), aiming to improve this unpleasant state. Since many common species in Slovakia are covered by barcodes from other countries, initially we focused on least explored habitat types within Europe - alpine glacial lakes in Tatra Mts and karstic springs. Both are located in Western and Slovak part of Eastern Carpathians, which are considered one of the most valuable biodiversity centers in Europe. More than 2700 sequences of COI-5P (337 BINs), originating in Slovakia, are currently in our dataset. Mostly they represent aquatic insects (86 %) and crustaceans (12 %), followed by minor taxonomic groups. From insects, the best covered orders are Coleoptera (43 % of sequences, 21% of species), followed by Trichoptera (22 % of sequences, 24 % of species) and Ephemeroptera (18 % of sequences, 33 % of species). And even if other groups (Hemiptera, Plecoptera) represent only around 5 % of all sequences each, their species coverage is already 21 % or 28 %, respectively. Relatively high number of unique BINs (35 out of 337) from our area, and separate intraspecific lineages within BINs of many widespread species, supports the premise that the Western Carpathians belong to the most important biodiversity hotspots. Our local reference database, continuously updated, is useful for the analysis and interpretation of metabarcoding data - a prerequisite for effective and nondestructive monitoring of aquatic biotopes including vulnerable, threatened, and protected habitats. It is also beneficial for a number of other purposes such as taxonomic revisions and phylogenetic analyses. This contribution was partially supported by VEGA2/0030/17, VEGA2/0084/2021 and COST CA15219.

Retrieving the configuration of grain boundary structure in polycrystalline materials by extraordinary X-ray reflection analysis

The development of materials is strongly related to our capability of understanding thermal, mechanical and chemical processing on the nanoscale. Unravelling the interface structure is crucial for opening new regimes in property–performance space. Interface arrangements have been characterized by statistically limited microscopy techniques. In this work, a large-angular-range detector was used for synchrotron diffraction measurements on commercially pure Mg. Long acquisitions allowed the retrieval of preferred interface configurations through the observation of extraordinary diffraction peaks located close to the Mg 102, 200, 204 and 300 fundamental reflections. A kinematical simulation scanning possible interface structures established the correspondence of the non-bulk peaks to the interfacial organization of atoms that may be responsible for their appearance. Simulated interfaces were probed for a wide range of angular displacements with respect to the main cleavage planes. The results indicate configurations that allow the observation of X-ray diffraction, representing a long-range-ordered pattern of atomic distributions in Mg. The introduced methodology allows for nondestructive monitoring of systems that undergo processes that modify grain sizes and grain-interface orientation.