Fluorescent nanosensors operating have shown recent success toward informing basic plant biology and agricultural applications. We developed near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent nanosensors using the Corona Phase Molecular Recognition (CoPhMoRe) technique that distinguish Fe(II) and Fe(III) species with limit of detection as low as 10 nM. An anionic poly(p-phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) polyelectrolyte wrapped single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) shows up to 200% turn-on and 85% turn-off responses to Fe(II) and Fe(III), respectively, allowing spatial and temporal analysis of iron uptake in both foliar and root-to-shoot pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraditional methods for assessing plant health often lack the necessary attributes for continuous and non-destructive monitoring. In this pilot study, we present a novel technique utilizing a customized fiber optic probe based on attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) with a contact force control unit for non-invasive and continuous plant health monitoring. We also developed a normalized difference mid-infrared reflectance index through statistical analysis of spectral features, enabling differentiation of drought and age conditions in plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeaf color patterns vary depending on leaf age, pathogen infection, and environmental and nutritional stresses; thus, they are widely used to diagnose plant health statuses in agricultural fields. The visible-near infrared-shortwave infrared (VIS-NIR-SWIR) sensor measures the leaf color pattern from a wide spectral range with high spectral resolution. However, spectral information has only been employed to understand general plant health statuses (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdvanced precision agriculture requires the objective measurement of the structural and functional properties of plants. Biochemical profiles in leaves can differ depending on plant growing conditions. By quantitatively detecting these changes, farm production processes can be optimized to achieve high-yield, high-quality, and nutrient dense agricultural products.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe efficient and accurate diagnosis of dengue, a major mosquito-borne disease, is of primary importance for clinical care, surveillance, and outbreak control. The identification of specific dengue virus serotype 1 (DENV-1) to DENV-4 can help in understanding the transmission dynamics and spread of dengue disease. The four rapid low-resource serotype-specific dengue tests use a simple sample preparation reagent followed by reverse transcription-isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) combined with lateral flow detection (LFD) technology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCalcium (Ca) deficiency causes necrotic symptoms of foliar edges known as tipburn; however, the underlying cellular mechanisms have been poorly understood due to the lack of an ideal plant model and research platform. Using a phenotyping system that quantitates growth and tipburn traits in the model bryophyte Marchantia polymorpha, we evaluated metabolic compounds and the Gβ-null mutant (gpb1) that modulate the occurrence and expansion of the tipburn. Transcriptomic comparisons between wild-type and gpb1 plants revealed the phenylalanine/phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway and reactive oxygen species (ROS) important for Ca deficiency responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew systems for agrochemical delivery in plants will foster precise agricultural practices and provide new tools to study plants and design crop traits, as standard spray methods suffer from elevated loss and limited access to remote plant tissues. Silk-based microneedles can circumvent these limitations by deploying a known amount of payloads directly in plants' deep tissues. However, plant response to microneedles' application and microneedles' efficacy in deploying physiologically relevant biomolecules are unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recognizing that physicians may struggle to achieve knowledge, skills, attitudes and or conduct at one or more stages during their training has highlighted the importance of the 'deliberate practice of improving performance through practising beyond one's comfort level under guidance'. However, variations in physician, program, contextual and healthcare and educational systems complicate efforts to create a consistent approach to remediation. Balancing the inevitable disparities in approaches and settings with the need for continuity and effective oversight of the remediation process, as well as the context and population specific nature of remediation, this review will scrutinise the remediation of physicians in training to better guide the design, structuring and oversight of new remediation programs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the healthcare landscape drastically. Stricken by sharp surges in morbidity and mortality with resource and manpower shortages confounding their efforts, the medical community has witnessed high rates of burnout and post-traumatic stress amongst themselves. Whilst the prevailing literature has offered glimpses into their professional war, no review thus far has collated the deeply personal reflections of physicians and ascertained how their self-concept, self-esteem and perceived self-worth has altered during this crisis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Professional identity formation (PIF) in medical students is a multifactorial phenomenon, shaped by ways that clinical and non-clinical experiences, expectations and environmental factors merge with individual values, beliefs and obligations. The relationship between students' evolving professional identity and self-identity or personhood remains ill-defined, making it challenging for medical schools to support PIF systematically and strategically. Primarily, to capture prevailing literature on PIF in medical school education, and secondarily, to ascertain how PIF influences on medical students may be viewed through the lens of the ring theory of personhood (RToP) and to identify ways that medical schools support PIF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF