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HighlightsAn on-the-go monitoring system was developed for assessing spatial and temporal variations in crop growth.The system was used to realize real-time transpiration estimation for lettuce growth.A variable-rate fertigation system was developed based on on-the-go transpiration monitoring.The variable-rate fertigation system was validated in controlled-environment cultivation of hydroponic lettuce.Abstract. Variable-rate fertigation, as a key component of hydroponic cultivation, ensures the sustainable use of water. However, this fertigation method is challenging to implement because of the difficulty associated with assessing the water needs of plants, which vary with plant growth stage and environmental conditions. In this study, an on-the-go crop growth monitoring system was developed to measure the canopy cover of lettuce plants on a daily basis. The canopy cover during the vegetative growth period could be estimated with an accuracy of 98.5% ±1.7% compared to manual segmentation. A modified Penman-Monteith equation was used to predict the transpiration rate of the lettuce plants. In the first cultivation test, the transpiration rate model exhibited a highly linear relationship with a slope of 0.91, coefficient of determination of >0.9, and standard error of regression of

The rapid on-site measurement of hydroponic nutrients allows for the more efficient use of crop fertilizers. This paper reports on the development of an embedded on-site system consisting of multiple ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) for the real-time measurement of the concentrations of macronutrients in hydroponic solutions. The system included a combination of PVC ISEs for the detection of NO3, K, and Ca ions, a cobalt-electrode for the detection of H2PO4, a double-junction reference electrode, a solution container, and a sampling system consisting of pumps and valves. An Arduino Due board was used to collect data and to control the volume of the sample. Prior to the measurement of each sample, a two-point normalization method was employed to adjust the sensitivity followed by an offset to minimize potential drift that might occur during continuous measurement. The predictive capabilities of the NO3 and K ISEs based on PVC membranes were satisfactory, producing results that were in close agreement with the results of standard analyzers (R2 = 0.99). Though the Ca ISE fabricated with Ca ionophore II underestimated the Ca concentration by an average of 55%, the strong linear relationship (R2 > 0.84) makes it possible for the embedded system to be used in hydroponic NO3, K, and Ca sensing. The cobalt-rod-based phosphate electrodes exhibited a relatively high error of 24.7±9.26% in the phosphate concentration range of 45 to 155 mg/L compared to standard methods due to inconsistent signal readings between replicates, illustrating the need for further research on the signal conditioning of cobalt electrodes to improve their predictive ability in hydroponic P sensing.

Obesity is an important health concern in humans and dogs. It can cause a variety of secondary problems, including low bacterial diversity. Several approaches have been tried to solve this problem; one of them is probiotic supplementation.

The detection of nitrate pollutants is a widely used strategy for protecting water sources. Although ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) have been considered for the determination of ion concentrations in water, the accuracy of ISE technology decreases owing to the signal drift and decreasing sensitivity over time. The objectives of the present study were: (1) to develop an online water monitoring system mainly consisting of an Arduino board-based Internet-of-Things (IoT) device and nitrate ISEs, and (2) to propose a self-diagnostic function for monitoring and reporting the condition of the ISEs. The developed system communicates with the cloud server by using the message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) protocol and provides monitoring information through the developed cloud-based webpage. In addition, the online monitoring system provides information on the electrode status, which is determined based on a self-diagnostic index (SDI, with a range of 0–100) of the electrode drift and sensitivity. The diagnostic method for monitoring and reporting the electrode status was validated in a one-month-long laboratory test followed by a field test in a stream near an agricultural facility. Moreover, a self-diagnostic index (SDI) was applied in the final field experiments with an accuracy of 0.77.

From 50 to 60% of companion animals in the United States are overweight or obese and this obesity rate is rising. As obesity is associated with a number of health problems, an agent that can help weight loss in pets and assist in clinically managing obesity through veterinary prescription foods and medication would be beneficial. Many studies have shown that celastrol, a phytochemical compound found in Celastrus orbiculatus extract (COE), has anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory effects, although these effects have not yet been determined in canine or canine-derived cells. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of celastrol on the adipogenic differentiation and lipolysis of canine adipocytes. Primary preadipocytes were isolated from the gluteal region of a beagle dog and the primary adipocytes were differentiated into mature adipocytes by adipocyte differentiation media containing isobutylmethylxanthine, dexamethasone, and insulin. In a water-soluble tetrazolium (WST) assay, the cell viability of mature adipocytes was decreased after treatment with COE (0, 0.93, 2.32, and 4.64 nM celastrol) in a concentration-dependent manner, although preadipocytes were not affected. Oil Red O (ORO) staining revealed that COE inhibited the differentiation into mature adipocytes and lipid accumulation in adipocytes. In addition, treatment with COE significantly reduced triglyceride content and increased lipolytic activities by 1.5-fold in canine adipocytes. Overall, it was concluded that COE may enhance anti-obesity activity in canine adipocytes by inhibiting lipid accumulation and increasing lipolytic activity.

Obesity is an important health concern in humans and dogs. It can cause a variety of secondary problems, including low bacterial diversity. Several approaches have been tried to solve this problem; one of them is probiotic supplementation. Lactobacillus gasseri BNR17 is derived from breast milk and has been proven to be effective for obesity in humans. However, there have been no studies using a synbiotic preparation containing L. gasseri BNR17 for obesity management in dogs. Therefore, the present study evaluated the effectiveness of a synbiotic preparation containing L. gasseri BNR17 in reducing body fat in obese dogs. A group of obese dogs were fed a synbiotic preparation for 10 weeks. Obesity variables included body weight, body condition score, subcutaneous fat thickness, subcutaneous fat mass and proportion of the fat mass. In addition, feces collected at 0-week and 10-week time points were analyzed for the intestinal microbiome. Results showed a significant decrease in body weight, body condition score, and subcutaneous fat mass and proportion at the level of the third lumbar vertebra. Diversity and functional analysis of the microbiota in obese dogs showed increased microbial diversity, and increased abundance of metabolism of carbohydrate, and lipid after supplementation with a synbiotic preparation. This study was conducted as a pilot study, and the results demonstrated that a synbiotic preparation containing L. gasseri BNR17 may play a role in reducing body fat and resolving the obesity in dogs.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the beneficial effects of the short-term application of insect-based diet in canine allergic dermatitis. Total 19 atopic dogs with concurrent cutaneous adverse food reactions were enrolled and classified into 3 groups. The treatment group (n = 7) was fed insect-based diet, the positive control group (n = 6) was fed salmon-based diet, and the negative control group (n = 6) was fed commercial or homemade diet for 12 weeks. The degree of skin lesions was evaluated based on canine atopic dermatitis extent and severity index (CADESI-4). Additionally, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and pruritus visual analog scale were evaluated. All indices were evaluated every 4 weeks after the initial administration of hypoallergenic diets. In the treatment group, significant decrease in the CADESI-4 score was observed at 8 weeks compared to the baseline score (p = 0.031). There were significant differences in the CADESI-4 score between the groups at 8 weeks (p = 0.008), 12 weeks (p = 0.012), and TEWL at 12 weeks (p = 0.022). This preliminary result demonstrates the potential hypoallergenicity of an insect-based diet through features that diminish cutaneous lesions and skin barrier dysfunction.

Real-time monitoring of crop growth parameters in plant factory can provide useful information about accurate assessment of their growth status for precision crop management. Plant weight is one of the most important biophysical properties used to determine the optimum time for harvesting. Conventional plant weight measurements are destructive and laborious. An on-the-go image processing system consisting of image acquisition and weight estimation was developed to generate a fresh weight map of plants grown in hydroponic solutions. Key technologies developed in this study are real-time image processing and spatial mapping methods that estimate the fresh weights of individual lettuces. Images were automatically captured with a low cost web camera and processed using a MYRIO-based embedded controller. The camera and embedded system moved along an XY axis frame above a plant growing bed (0.94 x 1.8 m) using two stepping motors and linear actuators. The image preprocessing algorithm consisted of two main subroutines, i.e., image segmentation and target plant recognition. For the image segmentation, the S channel of the HSV color space and Otsu’s threshold were used to separate the plants from the background. The target plant was identified based on location information of the growing bed holes in captured images. The plant weight was estimated using calibration equations previously developed that relate the pixel numbers of lettuce images to their actual fresh weights in conjunction with the use of a two-point normalization method. The accuracy of the fresh weight determined by the developed embedded system was confirmed by a highly linear relationship with a slope near 1.0 and a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.95 with a processing time of within 4 s. In addition, it was possible to generate a spatial map of the fresh weights of lettuces grown in a cultivation bed, which could be used to estimate their yields prior to harvesting.

An ideal closed hydroponic system would include automated preparation of nutrient solutions, including reuse of the drain solution with replenishment of fertilizers and water in proper ratios based on real-time measurement of various nutrient concentrations in the drain solution. The electrical conductivity (EC) based systems commonly used for managing hydroponic nutrients in closed systems do not allow individual corrections to each nutrient deficient for crop growth. To improve the performance of a PC-based nutrient management system originally developed in our previous study, this article describes the development and evaluation of a WinCE-based embedded system with robustness and an easy-to-use user interface, consisting mainly of a micro-control unit (MCU) based embedded nutrient controller and an array of ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) that can automatically control the nutrient replenishment events based on real-time measurements of NO3, K, and Ca concentrations. To overcome the problem of decoupled replenishment among the three nutrients found in the previous study, a robust fertilizer dosing algorithm was designed that can separately calculate the volumes of six nutrient stock solutions to be supplied in a sequential order according to specific ions. In a five-step spiking test, the use of a two-point normalization method prior to each measurement sequence coupled with the robust nutrient dosing algorithm enabled the system to formulate five different concentrations of NO3 and K ions comparable to the target concentrations. However, the five different Ca concentrations prepared were almost 33% higher than the target concentrations because of low Ca estimates due to a change in the sensitivity of the Ca ISE between the different background solutions used for calibration and measurement. This could be overcome with the use of the same background solution or a pre-sensitivity compensation when an initial measurement is made. In a lettuce cultivation test conducted with the ebb-and-flow method over 27 days, the nutrient control performance of the embedded system was improved as compared to the previously developed PC-based system while maintaining the target concentrations of 436, 117, and 80 mg L-1 within errors of -15.0 ±18.1, -5.0 ±10.0, and -9.2 ±4.1 mg L-1 for NO3, K, and Ca ions, respectively. The use of the developed system in closed crop cultivation proved to be feasible for managing individual nutrients in reused solution at desired concentration levels, resulting in the potential of maximizing the efficiency of nutrient use. Keywords: Automatic control, Closed system, Dosing algorithm, Embedded system, Greenhouse, Ion sensor, Nutrients.

th , 2016; Revised: May 20 th , 2016; Accepted: May 27 th , 2016 Purpose: In-situ water quality monitoring based on ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) is a promising technique because ISEs can be used directly in the medium to be tested, have a compact size, and are inexpensive. However, signal drift can be a major concern with on-line management systems because continuous immersion of the ISEs in water causes electrode degradation, affecting the stability, repeatability, and selectivity over time. In this study, a computer-based nitrate monitoring system including automatic electrode rinsing and calibration was developed to measure the nitrate concentration in water samples in real-time. Methods: The capabilities of two different types of poly(vinyl chloride) membrane-based ISEs, an electrode with a liquid filling and a carbon paste-based solid state electrode, were used in the monitoring system and evaluated on their sensitivities, selectivities, and durabilities. A feasibility test for the continuous detection of nitrate ions in water using the developed system was conducted using water samples obtained from various water sources. Results: Both prepared ISEs were capable of detecting low concentrations of nitrate in solution, i.e., 0.7 mg/L NO3-N. Furthermore, the electrodes have the same order of selectivity for nitrate: NO3 >> HCO3 > Cl > H2PO4 > SO4 2, and maintain their sensitivity by > 40 mV/decade over a period of 90 days. Conclusions: The use of an automated ISE-based nitrate measurement system that includes automatic electrode rinsing and two-point normalization proved to be feasible in measuring NO3-N in water samples obtained from different water sources. A one-to-one relationship between the levels of NO3-N measured with the ISEs and standard analytical instruments was obtained.

The measurement of individual nutrient concentrations is crucial in closed hydroponics because the correction of each deficient nutrient can allow both improved efficiency of fertilizer use and increased time of use of the nutrient solution. In this study, back propagation artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm combined with a two-point normalization method was employed to predict NO3, K, Ca, and Mg ions. Data from a sensor array of electrical conductivity (EC), and ion selective electrodes (NO3, K, and Ca) was used as inputs of ANN model. For the training and validation of the model, a set of samples with a background referring the Hoagland‘s solution were prepared by a fractional factorial design with three levels of concentrations for four ions. To compensate the drifts during the measurements, a two-point normalization method was applied prior to each sample measurement by an automated test stand. The prediction model for Mg ions showed a low coefficient of determination (R2=0.37) from the training. However, the ANN models for NO3, K, and Ca ions showed a high modelling capacity with high coefficients of determination (R2>0.9). In application of the models to hydroponic samples from lettuce and paprika growing beds, mean absolute relative errors of the ANN models were 3.1, 16.7, and 4.1% for NO3, K, and Ca ions, respectively.

Purpose. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women is known to promote the development of cervical neoplasia. Specific HPV genotypes are more highly associated with disease, and therefore detection and genotyping of HPV infection is critical for preventing and effectively treating cervical cancer. Consequently, various assays using diverse technologies have been developed to detect HPV genotype. Recently the OmniPlex-HPV and GeneFinder HPV methods, based on PCR and Luminex xMAP liquid bead microarray technologies, were developed for the detection of 40 and 32 HPV genotypes, respectively. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical performance of OmniPlex-HPV and GeneFinder HPV. Methodology. The study included 300 cytology-confirmed cervical swab specimens. In cases where there was a discrepancy between the two assay results, type-specific direct sequencing was performed. Result. We found a high overall agreement between OmniPlex-HPV and GeneFinder HPV for detecting the presence or absence of high-risk HPV (HR HPV) (90.7 %, κ=0.810). However, OmniPlex-HPV showed greater sensitivity than GeneFinder HPV in the identification of multiple genotype-infected samples. Specifically, diagnostic sensitivities for HR HPV positivity in high-grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions (HSIL) were 100.0 % for OmniPlex-HPV and 96.8 % for GeneFinder HPV. Conclusions. Our results suggest that OmniPlex-HPV and GeneFinder HPV are highly comparable for the detection and genotyping of HPV, but OmniPlex-HPV displays greater accuracy in cases of multiple HPV infection.

Purpose: This study was to develop an effective process for fabricating biocompatible calcium phosphate powders (CPPs) using horse bones, and to investigate the characteristics of them. Methods: The characteristics of horse bone powders (HBPs) were investigated according to the different osseous tissue types (compact bone and cancellous bone), bone types (spine and tibia), pretreatment methods (cold water, H2O2 , and hot water), sintering time (4, 8 and 12h), and sintering temperature (600, 900, 1100 and1300°C). In addition, the grinding methods were compared based on the wet grinding (ball mill) and dry grinding (blade grinder) method to make it as powders. Finally, their cytotoxicity and cell viability were checked. Results: Regardless of the types of osseous tissues and bones, HBPs were well fabricated as biocompatible CPPs. It was also found that the pretreatment methods did not influence on the resultants, showing well-fabricated HBPs. Considering the processing time, the hot water method was the most suitable compared to other pretreatment methods. Further, 12h-sintering time was sufficient to remove residual organic compounds. The sintering temperatures greatly affected the properties of bone powders fabricated. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) peak of horse bone sintered at 600°C was most closed to that of hydroxyapatite (HA). Our bioactivity study demonstrated that the HBPs fabricated by sintering horse bones at 1300°C showed the best performance in terms of cell viability whereas the HBPs 1100°C showed the cytotoxicity. Conclusions: Using various types of horse bone tissues, biocompatible CPPs were successfully developed. We conclude that the HBPs may have a great potential as biomaterials for various biological applications including bone tissue engineering.

Purpose: Stem cells provide new opportunities in the regenerative medicine for human or animal tissue regeneration. In this study, we report an efficient method for the modulating behaviors of electro-active stem cells by micro-electric current stimulation (mES) without using chemical agents, such as serum or induction chemicals. Methods: Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were cultured on the tissue culture dish in the mES system. To find a suitable mES condition to promote the DPSC functions, the response surface analysis was used. Results: We found that a working micro-current of 38 showed higher DPSC proliferation compared with other working conditions. The mES altered the expressions of intracellular and extracellular proteins compared to those in unstimulated cells. The mES with 38 significantly increased osteogenesis of DPSCs compared with ones without mES. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that mES may induce DPSC proliferation and differentiation, resulting in applying to DPSCs-based human or animal tissue regeneration.

This study was performed to investigate the effects of extremely low frequency pulsed electromagnetic fields (ELF-PEMFs) on the proliferation and differentiation of human alveolar bone-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hABMSCs). Osteogenesis is a complex series of events involving the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to generate new bone. In this study, we examined not merely the effect of ELF-PEMFs on cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and mineralization of the extracellular matrix but vinculin, vimentin, and calmodulin (CaM) expressions in hABMSCs during osteogenic differentiation. Exposure of hABMSCs to ELF-PEMFs increased proliferation by 15% compared to untreated cells at day 5. In addition, exposure to ELF-PEMFs significantly increased ALP expression during the early stages of osteogenesis and substantially enhanced mineralization near the midpoint of osteogenesis within 2 weeks. ELF-PEMFs also increased vinculin, vimentin, and CaM expressions, compared to control. In particular, CaM indicated that ELF-PEMFs significantly altered the expression of osteogenesis-related genes. The results indicated that ELF-PEMFs could enhance early cell proliferation in hABMSCs-mediated osteogenesis and accelerate the osteogenesis.

This study instituted a simple approach to stimulate alveolar bone regeneration for tooth tissue engineering by controlling effects of low fluid dynamic shear stress (LFDSS) on growth and differentiation in vitro. Human alveolar bone-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hABMSCs) harvested from human mandibular alveolar bone were cultured with LFDSS to generate cultures containing bone-like formations. To distinguish between osteodifferentiation and bone-like formation, cells were cultured either with or without fluid shear stress. The calcium content and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of hABMSCs were used as indicators of osteogenesis. Cell viability and proliferation after stimulating with LFDSS for 10-60 min/day were higher than with longer stimulations. Mineralized nodules formed when osteoblasts were cultured with an induction medium, a marker of osteogenic differentiation. ALP activity tended to increase after 10 and 60 min/day of stimulation. In addition, LFDSS conditions also increased gene expression of IBSP, RUNX2, COL-I, ALP, OCN, and OPN, as shown by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. From the results of a proteomics array, LFDSS groups were intensely expressed with several factors (EGF, HGF, IGF, TGF, and PDGF). Furthermore, CD146 and Stro-1 expression increased in cells treated with 30 min/day and decreased in cells treated with 120 min/day, as determined by cell surface antigen analysis by fluorescence-activated cell-sorting analysis. These results strongly showed that LFDSS at the proper intensity and time enhanced the differentiation and maturation of hABMSCs. In conclusion, an appropriate level of LFDSS can potently and positively modulate proliferation and differentiation in hABMSCs.