Differences between wheat genotypes in damage from freezing temperatures during reproductive growth

Cereal crops in the reproductive stage of growth are considerably more susceptible to injury from freezing temperatures than during their vegetative growth stage in the fall. While damage resulting from spring-freeze events has been documented, information on genotypic differences in tolerance to spring-freezes is scarce. Ninety wheat genotypes were subjected to a simulated spring-freeze at the mid-boot growth stage under controlled conditions. Spring-freeze tolerance was evaluated as the number of seeds per head at maturity after plants were frozen at −6 °C. Plants that froze, as confirmed by infrared (IR) thermography, died shortly after thawing and consequently the heads did not mature. Only in plants that had no visible freezing (super-cooled) were heads able to reach maturity and produce seeds. In plants that super-cooled four genotypes had significantly higher seed counts after being exposed to freezing than three with the lowest. In addition, significant differences between genotypes were found in whole plant survival among those that had frozen. Genotypes with high whole-plant freezing survival were not necessarily the same as the super-cooled plants with the highest seed counts. Spring-freeze tolerance was not correlated with maturity suggesting that improvement in freezing tolerance could be selected for without affecting heading date. Spring-freeze tolerance was not correlated with freezing tolerance of genotypes of plants in a vegetative state, either under non-acclimated or cold-acclimated conditions indicating that vegetative freezing tolerance is not a good predictor of spring-freeze tolerance.     

Thermal features,ambient temperature and hair coat lengths: Limitations of infrared imaging in pregnant primitive breed mares within a year

Infrared thermography is a non-invasive technique which allows to distinguish between pregnant and non-pregnant animals. Detecting accurate body surface temperatures can be challenging due to external factors altering thermograph measurements. This study aimed to determine the associations between the ambient temperature, the hair coat features and the temperatures of mares' abdomens. It compared pregnant and non-pregnant mares throughout 11 months. The research was carried out on 40 Konik Polski mares, which were divided into pregnant and non-pregnant groups. The temperature (Tmax, maximal; Taver, average; Tmin, minimal) of the mares' abdomen was evaluated in two regions of interest: the whole area of the lateral surface of the mares' abdomen (Px1) and the flank area of the lateral surface of mares' abdomen (Px2). During the increasing period, the slopes in the linear regression equation did not differ significantly for ambient (Tamb) and surface temperatures in both groups. In the decreasing period, the slopes did not differ significantly for Tamb and Tmax in the non-pregnant group. They also did not differ for Tamb and Taver in Px1 and Tamb and Tmin in Px1 in both pregnant and non-pregnant groups respectively. Other slopes varied significantly (p < .001). There was no evidence of parallel changes in hair coat features and measured temperatures. The flank area appears more suitable for thermal imaging in pregnant mares due to the seasonal fluctuations in hair coat lengths.     

Use of thermal imaging for identification of foot lesions in dairy cattle

The objective of this study was to investigate the use of infrared thermography (IRT) for detection of foot lesions in dairy cattle. Thermal images of the rear feet of 139 lactating dairy cows were taken with a thermal camera and evaluated using imaging software. Foot lesions identified in the study included white line disease (WLD), sole ulcer (SU) and digital dermatitis (DD). Temperatures at the coronary band (CBT) and the skin (ST) were recorded. Cows were scored for locomotion on a scale of 1–5 (1?=?normal and 5?=?severely lame). CBT was higher for all types of foot lesion (34.1?±?2.3, 33.8?±?1.6 and 33.1?±?1.6°C for WLD, SU and DD, respectively) than for healthy (32.6?±?1.9°C) feet. ST was higher only for WLD (33.2?±?2.0°C) compared to healthy feet (31.5?±?1.7°C). ΔT (temperature difference between CBT and ST) was higher for SU (2.1?±?0.8°C) than healthy feet (1.1?±?0.9°C). Locomotion scores (LSs) were similar between healthy cows (2.2?±?0.7) and DD (2.4?±?0.7) but greater for SU and WLD cows (3.0?±?0.9, 3.0?±?0.8) than healthy cows. The threshold values established for CBT and ST were 33.5°C (sensitivity?=?77.8%, specificity?=?65.2%) and 33.7°C (sensitivity?=?44.4%, specificity?=?92.9%) for SU, and 34.4^oC (sensitivity?=?28.1%, specificity?=?88.6%) and 31.8°C (sensitivity?=?60.7%, specificity?=?55.4%) for overall lesion, respectively. These results indicate that IRT can be a useful tool for detection of SU, but not WLD and DD. In addition, CBT and ΔT were the best indicators for the detection of foot lesions.     

刺槐种子萌发热谱及其萌发动力学研究

采用微量热法测定了刺槐种子的萌发热谱，发现其萌发过程呈现水化、活化和生长等三个生理阶段，揭示了其产热规律与吸水、呼吸和生长规律的相关关系，获得了其萌发过程中生长阶段的热力学模型、生长速率常数和限制因子的动力学参数．为继续开展此类研究提供了参考．     

非接触式测温鉴定母猪典型生理状态

体温是衡量母猪发情与否的关键生理指标。母猪发情期与间情期体温的明显不同,是运用红外热成像监测母猪体温变化以鉴定母猪发情的依据。该研究基于Y3TB01体温筛查智能摄像机和红外热像仪C3实时非接触拍摄母猪红外热图像,并运用图像分析技术获取体温,为非接触式测温用于鉴定母猪典型生理状态提供支持。试验以空怀期、发情期、妊娠1～8 d和妊娠9～16 d大白初产和经产母猪共720头为研究对象,利用红外设备和电子体温计分别测量母猪的眼睛、耳、耳蜗、乳房、外阴、臀部和直肠温度,筛选不同胎次发情母猪和返情母猪的体表关键部位温度,进行差异分析。结果表明：运用Y3TB01体温筛查智能摄像机可以代替直肠温度测定,准确监测母猪体表温度（相关系数为0.973）;红外热像仪C3检测体温异常母猪的体表温度,臀部温度可以作为筛选大白初产发情母猪和返情母猪的测定部位（准确率分别为77%和72%）,外阴温度可以作为筛选大白经产发情母猪和返情母猪的测定部位（准确率分别为88%和81%）。因此,Y3TB01体温筛查智能摄像机和红外热像仪C3配套技术能准确监测母猪体温和异常体温报警,明确不同胎次不同生理时期大白母猪体表部位温度和体温分布,准确鉴定出发情母猪和返情母猪。研究为非接触式测温鉴定母猪发情技术提供了科学依据,对规模化猪场母猪的饲养管理与疫情防控具有重要意义。     

Infrared Thermal Imaging as a Rapid Tool for Identifying Water‐Stress Tolerant Maize Genotypes of Different Phenology

The main task of this research was to evaluate canopy temperature and Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) by assessing genotype variability of maize performance for different water regimes. To that end, three hundred tropical and subtropical maize hybrids with different phenology in terms of date of anthesis were evaluated. The influence of phenology on the change in canopy temperatures and CWSI was not equal during the three dates of measurement. At the end of vegetative growth (82 days after sowing, DAS) and at the blister stage (DAS 97), a high significant difference in temperatures and CWSI (P < 0.001) were obtained between the early‐ and late‐maturity genotypes. During anthesis (DAS 89), phenology had a significant effect (P < 0.01) only for the well‐watered genotypes, while under water‐stress conditions, no differences were found between early and late genotypes in terms of canopy temperature and CWSI. High significant differences (P < 0.001) in stomatal conductance (g_s) between early and late genotypes for different treatments were observed. A relationship (R² = 0.62) between g_s and canopy temperature was obtained. Under a water‐stress canopy, temperature was measured at anthesis, which was negatively correlated with grain yield of the early (r = ?0.55)‐ and late (r = ?0.46)‐maturity genotypes in the water‐stressed condition.     

Regional and circadian variations of sweating rate and body surface temperature in camels (Camelus dromedarius)

It was the aim of this study to investigate the regional variations in surface temperature and sweating rate and to visualize body thermal windows responsible for the dissipation of excess body heat in dromedary camels. This study was conducted on five dromedary camels with mean body weight of 450 ± 20.5 kg and 2 years of age. Sweating rate, skin and body surface temperature showed significant (P < 0.001) circadian variation together with the variation in ambient temperature. However, daily mean values of sweating rate, skin and body surface temperature measured on seven regions of the camel body did not significantly differ. The variation in body surface temperature compared to the variation in skin temperature was higher in the hump compared to the axillary and flank regions, indicating the significance of camel's fur in protecting the skin from daily variation in ambient temperature. Infrared thermography revealed that flank and axillary regions had lower thermal gradients at higher ambient temperature (T_a) and higher thermal gradients at lower T_a, which might indicate the working of flank and axillary regions as thermal windows dissipating heat during the night. Sweating rate showed moderate correlation to skin and body surface temperatures, which might indicate their working as potential thermal drivers of sweating in camels.     

Ice Nucleation,Propagation, and Deep Supercooling in Woody Plants

Summary

The response of woody plants to freezing temperatures is complex. Species vary greatly in their ability to survive freezing temperatures and the resulting dehydrative and mechanical stresses that occur as a result from the presence of ice. Initially, this is presented by the ability to inhibit the formation of ice (ice nucleation) by supercooling. Significant questions exist about the role of internal and external ice nucleating agents in determining the extent to which any particular plant can supercool. Additionally, little is known about how plant structure can affect ice nucleation and propagation. In this review, the ability of high-resolution infrared thermography to reveal significant details about the freezing process is demonstrated. In general, the presence of effective, intrinsic nucleators appear to be common in woody plants. The nucleators appear to be as effective as external ice nucleators and induce stems to freeze at warm, subzero temperatures. Barriers appear to exist, however, that prevent ice propagation into lateral appendages such as buds, or newly extended primary tissues. Deep supercooling represents a unique adaptation of woody plants to avoid freezing injury by dramatically suppressing ice formation in specific tissues. The extent of suppression is limited by the homogeneous nucleation temperature of water (-38°C) and therefore deep supercooling is characteristic of moderately hardy woody plants. In contrast, it has been proposed that the most cold-hardy woody plants have the ability to form glassed solutions. These solutions are very stable as long as the cell remains below the melting temperature of the glass and so allows tissues to become relatively impervious to the stresses associated with extremely low temperatures.     

传感器在火灾监测中的应用

介绍了烟雾传感器、温度传感器、气体传感器以及红外成像仪的工作原理和特点,阐述了这几种传感器在火灾探测中的应用现状。