Search

ObjectiveThe enumeration of wheat leaves is an essential indicator for evaluating the vegetative state of wheat and predicting its yield potential. Currently, the process of wheat leaf counting in field settings is predominantly manual, characterized by being both time-consuming and labor-intensive. Despite advancements, the efficiency and accuracy of existing automated detection and counting methodologies have yet to satisfy the stringent demands of practical agricultural applications. This study aims to develop a method for the rapid quantification of wheat leaves to refine the precision of wheat leaf tip detection.MethodsTo enhance the accuracy of wheat leaf detection, firstly, an image dataset of wheat leaves across various developmental stages—seedling, tillering, and overwintering—under two distinct lighting conditions and using visible light images sourced from both mobile devices and field camera equipmen, was constructed. Considering the robust feature extraction and multi-scale feature fusion capabilities of YOLOv8 network, the foundational architecture of the proposed model was based on the YOLOv8, to which a coordinate attention mechanism has been integrated. To expedite the model's convergence, the loss functions were optimized. Furthermore, a dedicated small object detection layer was introduced to refine the recognition of wheat leaf tips, which were typically difficult for conventional models to discern due to their small size and resemblance to background elements. This deep learning network was named as YOLOv8-CSD, tailored for the recognition of small targets such as wheat leaf tips, ascertains the leaf count by detecting the number of leaf tips present within the image. A comparative analysis was conducted on the YOLOv8-CSD model in comparison with the original YOLOv8 and six other prominent network architectures, including Faster R-CNN, Mask R-CNN, YOLOv7, and SSD, within a uniform training framework, to evaluate the model's effectiveness. In parallel, the performance of both the original and YOLOv8-CSD models was assessed under challenging conditions, such as the presence of weeds, occlusions, and fluctuating lighting, to emulate complex real-world scenarios. Ultimately, the YOLOv8-CSD model was deployed for wheat leaf number detection in intricate field conditions to confirm its practical applicability and generalization potential.Results and DiscussionsThe research presented a methodology that achieved a recognition precision of 91.6% and an mAP0.5 of 85.1% for wheat leaf tips, indicative of its robust detection capabilities. This method exceled in adaptability within complex field environments, featuring an autonomous adjustment mechanism for different lighting conditions, which significantly enhanced the model's robustness. The minimal rate of missed detections in wheat seedlings' leaf counting underscored the method's suitability for wheat leaf tip recognition in intricate field scenarios, consequently elevating the precision of wheat leaf number detection. The sophisticated algorithm embedded within this model had demonstrated a heightened capacity to discern and focus on the unique features of wheat leaf tips during the detection process. This capability was essential for overcoming challenges such as small target sizes, similar background textures, and the intricacies of feature extraction. The model's consistent performance across diverse conditions, including scenarios with weeds, occlusions, and fluctuating lighting, further substantiated its robustness and its readiness for real-world application.ConclusionsThis research offers a valuable reference for accurately detecting wheat leaf numbers in intricate field conditions, as well as robust technical support for the comprehensive and high-quality assessment of wheat growth.

Gold nanoclusters have attracted widespread attention because of their unique optical and physical properties. However, traditional synthesis methods are complicated and require additional reducing agents, while the yield is often very low. Such resource and time-consuming synthesis processes limit their further application. Herein, a rapid sonochemical route is used to synthesize fluorescent Au nanoclusters in large quantities using glutathione (GSH) both as a capping and reducing agent. These Au nanoclusters are synthesized quickly (∼40 min) due to the presence of ultrasonic waves, and show orange red photoluminescence (Em = 598 nm), small size (∼2 nm) and good dispersion in aqueous solution. Moreover, GSH, as a protecting agent on the surface of resultant Au nanoclusters, has many functional groups including carboxyl and amino groups because of which the nanoclusters show high photo-, storage-, metal- and pH-stability. A stable Au nanoclusters-based nano-sensor is designed for highly sensitive and selective label-free detection of Cu2+ with a low limit of detection of 7 ppb (based on S/N = 3). The fluorescent probe can be used in versatile nanothermometry devices, because their photoluminescence intensity correlates strongly with temperature and varies considerably over a wide temperature range (20–80 °C). Therefore, the novel fluorescent sensing probe has great application prospects in Cu2+ detection and temperature sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the effect of saxagliptin on the injury of Alzheimer's disease (AD) cell model and its possible mechanism. SK-N-SH cells were cultured in vitro and divided into CON group, AD group, AD+L-SAX group, AD+M-SAX group, AD+H-SAX group, AD+anti-miR-NC group, AD+anti-miR-483-5p group, AD+SAX+miR-NC group and AD+SAX+miR-483-5p group. Then the levels of MDA, SOD and GSH-Px in each group were detected by ELISA method; cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry; the protein expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2 were detected by Western Blot; the expression level of miR-483-5p was detected by RT-qPCR. Compared with the control group, MDA content, apoptosis rate, and the expression of Bax protein and miR-483-5p increased in the AD group (P<0.05), while the activity of SOD and GSH-Px and the expression of Bcl-2 protein decreased (P<0.05). Compared with the AD group, MDA content, apoptosis rate, and the expression of Bax protein and miR-483-5p decreased in the AD+L-SAX group, AD+M-SAX group and AD+H-SAX group (P<0.05), while the activity of SOD and GSH-Px and the expression of Bcl-2 protein increased (P<0.05). Compared with AD+anti-miR-NC group, MDA content, apoptosis rate, and the expression of Bax protein and miR-483-5p decreased in the AD+anti-miR-483-5p group (P<0.05), while the activity of SOD and GSH-Px and the expression of Bcl-2 protein increased (P<0.05). Compared with AD+SAX+miR-NC group, MDA content, apoptosis rate, and the expression of Bax protein and miR-483-5p increased in the AD+SAX+miR-483-5p group (P<0.05), while the activity of SOD and GSH-Px and the expression of Bcl-2 protein decreased (P<0.05). Saxagliptin may reduce the injury of Alzheimer's disease cell model by down-regulating the expression of miR-483-5p.

Fullerenes, as hydrophobic molecules, are limited in biomedical function due to their very low solubility. But taking C₆₀(OH)ₓ as an example, the properties of fullerenols were analyzed. It was found that fullerenols had good stability, water solubility, good biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity by adding a hydroxyl group to carbon atoms. In the biomedical field, it has been found that fullerene C₆₀ can be used as a powerful free radical scavenger, with antioxidant activity, with antibacterial and inhibitory effects on cancer cells. Fullerenols inherit the good properties of fullerenes, and are better used in cancer treatment, including loading drug therapy and directly as an anticancer drug. In addition, fullerenols are also used in the repair of myocardial injury, the treatment of myocardial infarction and neuroprotection. With the development of tissue engineering technology, the preparation of nerve scaffolds which can improve ischemia, hypoxia and oxidative stress after nerve injury has become a research hotspot. The electron absorption and reduction characteristics of fullerenols in biomedical research bring new ideas for the treatment of oxidative stress in the repair of peripheral nerve defects. It seems that the research on fullerenols loaded neural scaffold has great prospects.

Gold nanoclusters have attracted widespread attention because of their unique optical and physical properties. However, traditional synthesis methods are complicated and require additional reducing agents, while the yield is often very low. Such resource and time-consuming synthesis processes limit their further application. Herein, a rapid sonochemical route is used to synthesize fluorescent Au nanoclusters in large quantities using glutathione (GSH) both as a capping and reducing agent. These Au nanoclusters are synthesized quickly (∼40 min) due to the presence of ultrasonic waves, and show orange red photoluminescence (Em = 598 nm), small size (∼2 nm) and good dispersion in aqueous solution. Moreover, GSH, as a protecting agent on the surface of resultant Au nanoclusters, has many functional groups including carboxyl and amino groups because of which the nanoclusters show high photo-, storage-, metal- and pH-stability. A stable Au nanoclusters-based nano-sensor is designed for highly sensitive and selective label-free detection of Cu2+ with a low limit of detection of 7 ppb (based on S/N = 3). The fluorescent probe can be used in versatile nanothermometry devices, because their photoluminescence intensity correlates strongly with temperature and varies considerably over a wide temperature range (20-80 °C). Therefore, the novel fluorescent sensing probe has great application prospects in Cu2+ detection and temperature sensing.