Using Channel and Network Layer Pruning Based on Deep Learning for Real-Time Detection of Ginger Images

Consistent ginger shoot orientation helps to ensure consistent ginger emergence and meet shading requirements. YOLO v3 is used to recognize ginger images in response to the current ginger seeder’s difficulty in meeting the above agronomic problems. However, it is not suitable for direct application on edge computing devices due to its high computational cost. To make the network more compact and to address the problems of low detection accuracy and long inference time, this study proposes an improved YOLO v3 model, in which some redundant channels and network layers are pruned to achieve real-time determination of ginger shoots and seeds. The test results showed that the pruned model reduced its model size by 87.2% and improved the detection speed by 85%. Meanwhile, its mean average precision (mAP) reached 98.0% for ginger shoots and seeds, only 0.1% lower than the model before pruning. Moreover, after deploying the model to the Jetson Nano, the test results showed that its mAP was 97.94%, the recognition accuracy could reach 96.7%, and detection speed could reach 20 frames·s−1. The results showed that the proposed method was feasible for real-time and accurate detection of ginger images, providing a solid foundation for automatic and accurate ginger seeding.

Fe-Hemin-Metal Organic Frameworks/Three-Dimensional Graphene Composites with Efficient Peroxidase-Like Bioactivity for Real-Time Electrochemical Detection of Extracellular Hydrogen Peroxide

Real-time detection of extracellular hydrogen peroxide is important for dynamic monitoring of diseases and cytopathological research. Here, a novel composite of Fe-hemin-metal organic frameworks/three-dimensional graphene (Fe-hemin MOFs/3DG) was prepared by embedding hemin into amino-contained Fe-MOFs, then decorated with 3DG. The obtained Fe-hemin MOFs/3DG possessed efficient peroxidase-like bioactivity and could serve as an effective catalyst for construction of H2O2 electrochemical sensor. The electrochemical results show that the proposed sensor based on Fe-hemin MOFs/3DG has excellent catalytic activity for H2O2. With a linear range was 10 - 12080 μM and LOD was 0.34 μM, this sensor showed favorable selectivity, repeatability and stability, which could be used to detect H2O2 in real serum samples. Most importantly, this sensor realized the real-time determination of H2O2 released by A549 cells and possessed good biocompatibility. The outstanding electrochemical performance mainly benefited from the unique porous structure of MOFs, which could effectively protect the active center of hemin, and the introduction of 3DG greatly improved the conductivity of Fe-hemin MOFs. Therefore, the Fe-hemin MOFs/3DG could be a promising probe for real-time dynamic monitoring of H2O2.

Travel Time Modelling Using Time Series of Nitrate Concentration in Groundwater Improves Hydrological Process Understanding : A Case Study of a Small Agricultural Catchment in Brittany, France.

Rivers can act as mirrors to in-catchment processes, but integrated concentration-discharge dynamics might not be sufficient for constructing a well-posed solute travel time determination problem. One remedy is to look inside the catchment and see if the extra information provided by long-term time series of groundwater solutes constrains the problem or provides us with some additional insight on retrieving the processes which the stream is aggregating. To test this notion, we used data for Kerrien, a well-studied agriculture dominated small headwater catchment of the French Critical Zone Observatory in Brittany. It contains long-term nitrate concentration time-series from a network of piezometers as well as a stream outlet. In this study, a parsimonious, conceptual dual-permeability mixing model already developed for streams was adapted for piezometers along with detailed uncertainty and sensitivity analysis. We found out the nitrate flushing times of mid to upslope piezometers were consistently higher than the stream outlet. We further observed an asynchronicity in seasonal concentration-discharge dynamics between the piezometers and the stream. We hypothesize the reason behind this counterintuitive finding to be extensive riparian denitrification, vertical stratification of groundwater and disconnect between the stream and the deeper flowpaths that carry legacy contamination, evidenced by the non-closure of water budget at the stream outlet. As a consequence, we argue that in headwater catchments the stream signature might not fully reflect internal processes which can be revealed only by using piezometer data. This adapted conceptual framework could be of great interest for semi-arid catchments where groundwater monitoring could be used in combination or as an alternate to ephemeral streams in travel time determination.

Comparison on the Nutrient Plunder Capacity of Orychophragmus violaceus and Brassica napus L. Based on Electrophysiological Information

The nutrient metabolism, growth and development of plants are strongly affected by its nutrient plunder, and plants have different adaptive mechanisms to low-nutrient environments. The electrophysiological activities involve almost all life processes of plants. In this study, the active transport flow of nutrient (NAF) and nutrient plunder capacity (NPC) of plants were defined based on leaf intrinsic impedance (IZ), capacitive reactance (IXc), inductive reactance (IXL) and capacitance (IC) to evaluate the nutrient plunder capacity of plants for the first time. The results indicate that Orychophragmus violaceus had higher (p < 0.01) NPC and IC and lower (p < 0.01) IR, IXc, IXL and IZ as compared to Brassica napus L., which supports a superior ion affinity and that it could be better adapted to low-nutrient environments. UAF and NPC of plants exhibited good correlations with crude protein, crude ash and water content, and precisely revealed the plunder capacity and adaptive strategies of plants to nutrients. The present work highlights that O. violaceus had superior NPC and ion affinity compared with B. napus, and provided a novel, rapid, reliable method based on the plant’s electrophysiological information for real-time determination of the nutrient plunder capacity of plants.