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Exploring Unconventional Growing Methods to Promote Healthy Growth in Common Household Plants: Tagetes patula L. and Lepidium sativum

Nguyen et al. | Feb 25, 2021

Exploring Unconventional Growing Methods to Promote Healthy Growth in Common Household Plants: <i>Tagetes patula</i> L. and <i>Lepidium sativum</i>

This study focused on finding more sustainable growing methods that reduce chemical fertilizer or water usage and can be used at the household level for garden plants. Metrics for healthy plant growth were height at first bloom, growing time, and survival rate. The Deep Water Culture (DWC) treatment for garden cress plants significantly increased the height at first bloom compared to the control group. For rates of surviving plants, the treatments had little effect on garden cress, but the Eggshell Grounds, Wick System, and DWC system groups outperformed the control group for marigolds.

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Changing public opinions on genetically modified organisms through access to educational resources

Klein et al. | Jul 26, 2022

Changing public opinions on genetically modified organisms through access to educational resources

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are crops or animals that have been genetically engineered to express a certain physical or biological characteristic and have various benefits that have made them become increasingly popular. However, the public has had mixed reactions to the use of GMOs, with some skeptical of their safety. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how opinions on genetically modified foods can change from exposure to small amounts of information

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Which fruit peel helps retain the most soil moisture?

Parashar et al. | Jan 09, 2024

Which fruit peel helps retain the most soil moisture?
Image credit: Anshu A

Here, the authors investigated the ability to use fruit peels to help soil retain moisture, a property that is essential to agriculture. Across a 96-hour observation period, orange, banana, and kiwi peel water emulsions were evaluated for their effects on soil moisture. They found that orange peels retained the most moisture, but banana and kiwi peels also offered improvements over their control sample.

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Vineyard vigilance: Harnessing deep learning for grapevine disease detection

Mandal et al. | Aug 21, 2024

Vineyard vigilance: Harnessing deep learning for grapevine disease detection

Globally, the cultivation of 77.8 million tons of grapes each year underscores their significance in both diets and agriculture. However, grapevines face mounting threats from diseases such as black rot, Esca, and leaf blight. Traditional detection methods often lag, leading to reduced yields and poor fruit quality. To address this, authors used machine learning, specifically deep learning with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), to enhance disease detection.

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Efficient synthesis of superabsorbent beads using photopolymerization with a low-cost method

Wang et al. | Jun 09, 2023

Efficient synthesis of superabsorbent beads using photopolymerization with a low-cost method

Superabsorbent beads are remarkable, used throughout our daily lives for various practical applications. These beads, as suggested by their name, possess a unique ability to absorb and retain large quantities of liquids. This characteristic of absorbency makes them essential throughout the medical field, agriculture, and other critical industries as well as in everyday products. To create these beads, the process of photopolymerization is fast growing in favor with distinct advantages of cost efficiency, speed, energy efficiency, and mindfulness towards the environment. In this article, researchers explore the pairing of cheap monomers with accessible equipment for creation of superabsorbent beads via the photopolymerization process. This research substantially demonstrates the successful application of photopolymerization in producing highly absorbent beads in a low-cost context, thereby expanding the accessibility of this process for creating superabsorbent beads in both research and practical applications.

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Utilizing sorbitol to improve properties of cellulose-based biodegradable hydrogels

Adler et al. | Jan 06, 2025

Utilizing sorbitol to improve properties of cellulose-based biodegradable hydrogels

Hydrogels are commonly used in medicine, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture. Hydrogels absorb water by swelling and re-release this water by diffusion. This study sought to synthesize a biodegradable, cellulose-based hydrogel that is more effective at absorbing and re-releasing water than those produced by current methods. We tested the compressive strength of both the dry and swollen gels and the tensile strength of the swollen gels to elucidate the gel structure.

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Impact of salinity and phosphorus on growth of Phaseolus Vulgaris inoculated with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

Matanachai et al. | Jun 16, 2022

Impact of salinity and phosphorus on growth of <em>Phaseolus Vulgaris</em> inoculated with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

Here, recognizing a declining supply of rock phosphate, as well as its role in crop fertilization, the authors investigated a fungus that forms a symbiotic relationship with many crops. They found that symbiosis between the fungus and common bean plant increased the affinity of the plant towards absorbing nutrients as evidenced by lower root-to-shoot ratios in beans planted in soil with various concentrations of phosphorous and salinity.

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The impacts of different Al(NO3)3 concentrations on the mitotic index of Allium sativum

Jimenez Pol et al. | Jul 10, 2023

The impacts of different Al(NO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub> concentrations on the mitotic index of <i>Allium sativum</i>
Image credit: Kylie Paz

Recognizing the increasing threat of acid deposition inn soil through the reaction of NOx and SO2 pollutants with water in Spain, the authors investigates the effects of Al(NO3)3 concentrations on the health of Allium sativum. By tracking its mitotic index, they found a negative exponential correlation between Al(NO3)3 concentrations and the mitotic index of A. sativum.

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SmartZoo: A Deep Learning Framework for an IoT Platform in Animal Care

Ji et al. | Aug 07, 2024

SmartZoo: A Deep Learning Framework for an IoT Platform in Animal Care

Zoos offer educational and scientific advantages but face high maintenance costs and challenges in animal care due to diverse species' habits. Challenges include tracking animals, detecting illnesses, and creating suitable habitats. We developed a deep learning framework called SmartZoo to address these issues and enable efficient animal monitoring, condition alerts, and data aggregation. We discovered that the data generated by our model is closer to real data than random data, and we were able to demonstrate that the model excels at generating data that resembles real-world data.

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