Seasonal pigment fluctuation in diploid and polyploid Arabidopsis revealed by machine learning-based phenotyping method PlantServation.

Long-term field monitoring of leaf pigment content is informative for understanding plant responses to environments distinct from regulated chambers but is impractical by conventional destructive measurements. We developed PlantServation, a method incorporating robust image-acquisition hardware and deep learning-based software that extracts leaf color by detecting plant individuals automatically. As a case study, we applied PlantServation to examine environmental and genotypic effects on the pigment anthocyanin content estimated from leaf color. We processed >4 million images of small individuals of four Arabidopsis species in the field, where the plant shape, color, and background vary over months. Past radiation, coldness, and precipitation significantly affected the anthocyanin content. The synthetic allopolyploid A. kamchatica recapitulated the fluctuations of natural polyploids by integrating diploid responses. The data support a long-standing hypothesis stating that allopolyploids can inherit and combine the traits of progenitors. PlantServation facilitates the study of plant responses to complex environments termed "in natura".

Wearable electromyography measurement system using cable-free network system on conductive fabric.

OBJECTIVE: To solve the complicated wires and battery maintenance problems in the application of wearable computing for biomedical monitoring, the electromyography (EMG) measurement system using conductive fabric for power supply and electric shield for noise reduction is proposed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The basic cable-free network system using conductive fabric, named as "TextileNet" is developed. The conductive fabric has the function of electric shield for noise reduction in EMG measurement, and it enables the precise EMG measurement with wearable system. RESULTS: The specifications of the developed prototype TextileNet system using wear with conductive fabric were communication speed of 9600bit/s and power supply of 3W for each device. The electric shield effect was evaluated for precise EMG measurement, and the shield efficacy of conductive fabric was estimated as high as that of shield room. CONCLUSIONS: TextileNet system solves both the problems of complicated wires and battery maintenance in wearable computing systems. Conductive fabric used in TextileNet system is also effective for precise EMG measurement as electric shield. The combination of TextileNet system and EMG measurement device will implement the cable-free, battery-free wearable EMG measurement system.