Monitoring of maize lodging using multi-temporal Sentinel-1 SAR data

Lodging is a common phenomenon in maize production, which seriously affects its yield, quality, and mechanical harvesting capacity. With good penetrating power, satellite radar can monitor crop growth even under cloudy weather conditions. In this study, a method based on the change in plant height before and after lodging in maize is proposed to calculate the lodging angle and monitor the lodging degree by using dual-polarization Sentinel-1A data. The results show that the optimal sensitive polarization combinations of maize plant height before and after lodging are VH/VV and VV, respectively. The lodging angle is calculated using the plant height inversion results before and after lodging. The overall accuracy of classifying lodging grade of maize is 67%. The proposed model based on lodging angle could effectively mapped the maize lodging range on a regional scale and classify the lodging grades.     

Biochemical,photosynthetic and productive parameters of Chinese cabbage grown under blue–red LED assembly designed for space agriculture

Currently light emitting diodes (LEDs) are considered to be most preferable source for space plant growth facilities. We performed a complex study of growth and photosynthesis in Chinese cabbage plants (Brassica chinensis L.) grown with continuous LED lighting based on red (650 nm) and blue (470 nm) LEDs with a red to blue photon ratio of 7:1. Plants grown with high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps were used as a control. PPF levels used were about 100 μmol/(m² s) (PPF 100) and nearly 400 μmol/(m² s) (PPF 400). One group of plants was grown with PPF 100 and transferred to PPF 400 at the age of 12 days. Plants were studied at the age of 15 and 28 days (harvest age); some plants were left to naturally end their life cycle. We studied a number of parameters reflecting different stages of photosynthesis: photosynthetic pigment content; chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (photosystem II quantum yield, photochemical and non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching); electron transport rate, proton gradient on thylakoid membranes (ΔpH), and photophosphorylation rate in isolated chloroplasts. We also tested parameters reflecting plant growth and productivity: shoot and root fresh and dry weight, sugar content and ascorbic acid content in shoots. Our results had shown that at PPF 100, plants grown with LEDs did not differ from control plants in shoot fresh weight, but showed substantial differences in photophosphorylation rate and sugar content. Differences observed in plants grown with PPF 100 become more pronounced in plants grown with PPF 400. Most parameters characterizing the plant photosynthetic performance, such as photosynthetic pigment content, electron transport rate, and ΔpH did not react strongly to light spectrum. Photophosphorylation rate differed strongly in plants grown with different spectrum and PPF level, but did not always reflect final plant yield. Results of the present work suggest that narrow-band LED lighting caused changes in Chinese cabbage plants on levels of the photosynthetic apparatus and the whole plant, concerning its development and adaptation to a varying PPF level.     

Developing strategies for automated remote plant production systems: Environmental control and monitoring of the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse in the Canadian High Arctic

The Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse is a unique research facility dedicated to the study of greenhouse engineering and autonomous functionality under extreme operational conditions, in preparation for extraterrestrial biologically-based life support systems. The Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse is located at the Haughton Mars Project Research Station on Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic. The greenhouse has been operational since 2002. Over recent years the greenhouse has served as a controlled environment facility for conducting scientific and operationally relevant plant growth investigations in an extreme environment. Since 2005 the greenhouse has seen the deployment of a refined nutrient control system, an improved imaging system capable of remote assessment of basic plant health parameters, more robust communication and power systems as well as the implementation of a distributed data acquisition system. Though several other Arctic greenhouses exist, the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse is distinct in that the focus is on autonomous operation as opposed to strictly plant production. Remote control and autonomous operational experience has applications both terrestrially in production greenhouses and extraterrestrially where future long duration Moon/Mars missions will utilize biological life support systems to close the air, food and water loops. Minimizing crew time is an important goal for any space-based system. The experience gained through the remote operation of the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse is providing the experience necessary to optimize future plant production systems and minimize crew time requirements. Internal greenhouse environmental data shows that the fall growth season (July–September) provides an average photosynthetic photon flux of 161.09 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ (August) and 76.76 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ (September) with approximately a 24 h photoperiod. The spring growth season provides an average of 327.51 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ (May) and 339.32 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ (June) demonstrating that even at high latitudes adequate light is available for crop growth during 4–5 months of the year. The Canadian Space Agency Development Greenhouse [now operational] serves as a test-bed for evaluating new systems prior to deployment in the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse. This greenhouse is also used as a venue for public outreach relating to biological life support research and its corresponding terrestrial spin-offs.     

Use of sunlight for plant lighting in a bioregenerative life support system – Equivalent system mass calculations

Plant lighting is a critical issue for cost effectiveness of bioregenerative systems. A plant lighting system using sunlight has been investigated and compared to systems using electrical lighting. Co-generation of electricity and use of in situ resource utilization (ISRU) were also considered. The fixed part of equivalent system mass was found to be reduced by factors of from 3.1 to 3.9, according to the mission assumptions. The time-dependent part of equivalent system mass was reduced by a smaller value, of about 1.05. Cost effectiveness of bioregeneration has been compared to the cost of shipping food. Break-even times for different Lunar and Mars missions were generally in the order of 2–10 years, and were quite sensitive to the assumptions. There is significant scope for future refinement of these values, and work is ongoing.     

Operations of a spaceflight experiment to investigate plant tropisms

Plants will be an important component in bioregenerative systems for long-term missions to the Moon and Mars. Since gravity is reduced both on the Moon and Mars, studies that identify the basic mechanisms of plant growth and development in altered gravity are required to ensure successful plant production on these space colonization missions. To address these issues, we have developed a project on the International Space Station (ISS) to study the interaction between gravitropism and phototropism in Arabidopsis thaliana. These experiments were termed TROPI (for tropisms) and were performed on the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) in 2006. In this paper, we provide an operational summary of TROPI and preliminary results on studies of tropistic curvature of seedlings grown in space. Seed germination in TROPI was lower compared to previous space experiments, and this was likely due to extended storage in hardware for up to 8 months. Video downlinks provided an important quality check on the automated experimental time line that also was monitored with telemetry. Good quality images of seedlings were obtained, but the use of analog video tapes resulted in delays in image processing and analysis procedures. Seedlings that germinated exhibited robust phototropic curvature. Frozen plant samples were returned on three space shuttle missions, and improvements in cold stowage and handing procedures in the second and third missions resulted in quality RNA extracted from the seedlings that was used in subsequent microarray analyses. While the TROPI experiment had technical and logistical difficulties, most of the procedures worked well due to refinement during the project.     

从分子生物学思路理解中医治疗癌症思想

癌症是组织细胞受到外界物理的、化学的、生物的、心理性的、长时间多重刺激而引起细胞多种基因突变 ,使得细胞信息调节和控制系统紊乱 ,机体免疫功能失调 ,而导致细胞自主性增殖的病变。中医通过调整脏腑阴阳平衡及气血津液失调状态 ,对细胞组织产生长期的、多重的良性刺激 ,让突变基因逆转 ,使癌细胞逆转为正常细胞 ,并进行正常分化、凋亡 ,最终使癌组织退行 ,消失     

液态排渣锅炉析铁防治对策

通过对宝鸡热电公司#3、#4液态排渣锅炉因析铁导致锅炉泄漏的原因进行综合分析,制定了掺烧长焰煤、增加炉底料厚度、使用特种高温耐火材料、调整改进运行方案、辅助对高温预热器进行定期维护等措施,探索出有效、可行的液态排渣锅炉的检修方案。     

A newly bio-inspired path planning algorithm for autonomous obstacle avoidance of UAV

In this paper, a bio-inspired path planning algorithm in 3D space is proposed. The algorithm imitates the basic mechanisms of plant growth, including phototropism, negative geotropism and branching. The algorithm proposed in this paper solves the dynamic obstacle avoidance path planning problem of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in the case of unknown environment maps. Compared with other path planning algorithms, the algorithm has the advantages of fast path planning speed and fewer route points, and can achieve the effect of low delay real-time path planning. The feasibility of the algorithm is verified in the Gazebo simulator based on the Robot Operating System (ROS) platform. Finally, an actual UAV autonomous obstacle avoidance path planning experimental platform is built, and a UAV obstacle avoidance path planning flight test is carried out based on this actual environment.     

民用飞机短舱防冰系统冻雾天试验方法研究

民航规章25部1093(b)(2)条款要求短舱防冰系统在冻雾天环境中性能满足要求,通过构建开放式结冰条件模拟装置,对民用飞机短舱防冰系统在特定的地面冻雾条件下的性能进行了验证,试验对象是装机后的短舱防冰系统,在真实的飞机发动机运转条件下进行适航验证试验,表明短舱防冰系统对民航25部适航规章1093(b)(2)条款的符合性,详细给出了民用飞机短舱防冰系统地面冻雾天试验的方法。该试验方法成功在某型飞机上实施,试验方案科学合理,试验方法可以为其他型号飞机地面冻雾天试验提供参考。     

Assessment of plant vitality detection through fluorescence and reflectance imagery

Recent studies of the vegetation fluorescence show that it can be successfully used as an intrinsic indicator of plant photosynthetic activity. With respect to the vegetation spectral reflectance, the chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence is more specific as an observable of basic biophysical processes in the plant cells. Laser induced fluorescence is widely used in near range remote sensing, but it is not suitable for the global monitoring of vegetation. Decades of active fluorometry studies have collected useful information of leaf reaction to natural and anthropogenic stress. Still the passive fluorescence, the one that could be registered from satellite orbit has still to prove its advantage over widely used reflectance signature. The weakness of the signal and the lack of experience with passive fluorescence measurements require extensive technical, theoretical and experimental studies. New imaging fluorometres are to be designed for measuring steady state fluorescence in controlled and natural conditions.

In order to compare reflectance and steady state fluorescence sensitivity to stress impact, a set of experiments have been conducted under controlled illumination conditions in a bio-chamber, designed by the author’s team. The equipment allows plant vitality to be monitored both by passive fluorescence and spectral reflectance imaging. Different types of stress factors (heat and drought stress, acid impact) were investigated to demonstrate equipments ability in monitoring changes of fluorescence signal. Selected fluorescence images of foliage illustrate an early detection of plant dysfunction and the temporal and spatial spreading of the stress impact. Analysis shows that fluorescence imaging of green plants can be developed as a highly effective early warning remote sensing method, which could have application for an ecosystems’ monitoring along with high-spectral reflectance imagery.