Lightness Research Articles

Improving ready-to-eat meat safety: Evaluating the bacterial-inactivation efficacy of microplasma-based far-UVC light treatment of food-contact surfaces and deli turkey breast

The safety of ready-to-eat (RTE) deli meats, especially those sliced in retail establishments, may be improved by light-based surface decontamination. Conventional 254 nm ultraviolet-C (UVC) systems have strong germicidal effects but pose human-health hazards that make them unsuitable for retail use. This study therefore explores the efficacy of microplasma-based 222 nm far-UVC lamps as a safer alternative for decontaminating liquid buffer, two common food-contact surfaces (polyethylene terephthalate and stainless steel), and RTE turkey breast. In all three non-meat cases, the system achieved approximately 5-log reductions of both Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium. The system also caused a 1.3-log reduction of L. monocytogenes and a 1-log reduction of S. Typhimurium on turkey breast at the highest tested dose of 786.3 mJ/cm2. Color is a key quality indicator for RTE meat consumers, and treatment caused no significant change in L*, a*, or b* color values (p > 0.05) until doses reached 224.7 mJ/cm2. However, higher doses could lead to statistically significant color changes. Given that far-UVC light has been deemed human-safe by other studies, the proposed system has considerable potential to improve RTE food-related safety in retail establishments, even when consumers and workers are present.

Limosilactobacillus fermentum CGMCC 1.7434 and Debaryomyces hansenii GDMCC 2.149 synergize with ultrasound treatment to efficiently degrade nitrite in air-dried ducks

Nitrites in meat products are important food additives with coloring, antibacterial and antioxidant effects, but excessive intake of nitrites can pose health risks, including an increased risk of cancer due to the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines. In the present study, Limosilactobacillus fermentum CGMCC 1.7434 was screened and the effects of it and Debaryomyces hansenii GDMCC 2.149 and their combination on nitrite degradation were investigated. It was found that the co-culture of L. fermentum CGMCC 1.7434 and D. hansenii GDMCC 2.149 significantly enhanced nitrite degradation (99.58%). The findings on salt and ethanol tolerance suggest suitability for application in meat fermentation processes. Scanning electron microscopy and additional data indicate that D. hansenii GDMCC 2.149 facilitates the growth, acid production, adhesion, secretion of AI-2 signaling molecules, and biofilm formation of L. fermentum CGMCC 1.7434. Metabolomics analysis suggests that these microorganisms reduce nitrite levels by converting NH3 derived from nitrite into L-glutamine, which is further transformed into N-nitroso compounds and their downstream derivatives through the ABC transporter pathway, the TCA cycle, and the amino acid metabolism pathway. Microbial community analyses showed that L. fermentum CGMCC 1.7434 and D. hansenii GDMCC 2.149 were successfully inoculated into air-dried ducks, becoming dominant strains and effectively inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Furthermore, during the processing of air-dried duck, the combination of ultrasonic cavitation (250 W, 4 min, 30°C, 40 kHz) with the co-fermentation of L. fermentum CGMCC 1.7434 and D. hansenii GDMCC 2.149 effectively reduced nitrite content (84.55%) and TVB-N levels in the meat, without compromising color or TBARS values. This is crucial for understanding the mechanism of nitrite degradation by LAB in synergy with yeast and for the advancement of low-nitrite air-dried duck products.

Synergistic effects of gamma irradiation and butylated hydroxyanisole on the sensory, physicochemical, and microbiological quality of beef

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of gamma irradiation, in combination with the synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), on the safety and quality characteristics of refrigerated beef. The samples were divided into four treatment groups, which were subjected to marinating with 0.01% BHA and gamma irradiation at different dosages. The treatment groups were labeled as follows: T0 (control, non-irradiated), T1 (3 kGy), T2 (5 kGy), and T3 (7 kGy). The specimens in each group were stored under refrigerated conditions at a temperature of 4°C for intervals of 0, 5, 10, or 15 days. Data analyses were conducted using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with a 4 × 4 factorial experiment. The experiment consisted of two factors, each with four treatments, and was reproduced three times with a 4-day gap. The instrumental color value CIE: lightness (L*), redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) and physicochemical properties, including pH, drip loss, cook loss, extract release volume, and water holding capacity, were analyzed. The proximate components, including dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), ash, and moisture, were found to have a significant effect (p < 0.01)(p < 0.01) among treatment groups, time intervals, and their interaction. Free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (POV), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) significantly increased (p < 0.01)(p < 0.01)(p < 0.01) among treatments and over the course of storage. Following the irradiation with BHA, there was a notable reduction in microbial populations and a delay in lipid oxidation. The sensory characteristics stipulated that both the control samples and the samples treated with BHA were more favored than the irradiated samples as the storage time progressed. Although treatment may cause some changes in the sensory characteristics of the meat, the samples were deemed suitable for refrigerated storage for a maximum duration of 10 days. In summary, the utilization of irradiation in conjunction with BHA presents a possible avenue for enhancing the quality and safety of refrigerated beef storage, hence offering promising applications within the meat sector.

Revolutionizing nutrition: Exploring the transformative impact of amaranth integration on composite millet flakes

This study focuses on the development and comparative analysis of multi-millet flakes comprising amaranth, finger millet, and foxtail millet. Two drying methods, baking and dehydration, were employed to produce the flakes. Physicochemical, structural, and thermal properties were evaluated, along with changes observed during soaking in various media. Baked flakes exhibited larger dimensions and a more porous internal structure compared to dried flakes. Baking induced gelatinization and protein denaturation, enhancing water holding capacity and resulting in lower water activity (0.24) conducive to long-term storage. Dehydrated flakes had slightly higher water activity (0.41) and exhibited higher color values with a glossy outer surface. Flakes soaked in hot milk, milk, and water displayed distinct structural properties, crystallinity shifts, and thermal degradation patterns. The nutritional analysis revealed a significant carbohydrate content (55 %), moderate protein (11 %), and notable levels of fat (4.4 %) and total dietary fiber (6.88 %). Fatty acid profiling indicated low levels of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats, with no trans-fat or cholesterol. Sensory evaluation favored baked flakes, indicating higher acceptability. This research underscores the potential of multi-millet flakes as a nutritious and palatable food option.

Kinetic modelling of Maillard reaction products and protein content during roasting of coffee beans

In this study, the effects of various roasting methods on the α–dicarbonyl compounds (α-DCs), melanoidins, crude proteins, and colour value of roasted coffee beans (Coffea arabica) were analysed. The concentration of α-DCs in the coffee samples significantly changed (p < 0.05) during roasting, while that of melanoidins increased with roasting time in all roasting methods regardless of temperature. Crude protein decreased as roasting time increased. Through kinetic modelling, pan roasting was found to increase the rate constant of α-DCs, melanoidins, and crude proteins by up to 62.6%, 9.3%, and 33.3%, respectively. Air frying was observed to decrease the activation energy of α-DCs, melanoidins, and crude proteins by up to 57.8%, 22.3%, and 12.6%, respectively. The pan roasting method was shown to minimise α-DCs by up to 15% during medium roasting of coffee beans.

Transformer Based Pluralistic Image Completion With Reduced Information Loss.

Transformer based methods have achieved great success in image inpainting recently. However, we find that these solutions regard each pixel as a token, thus suffering from an information loss issue from two aspects: 1) They downsample the input image into much lower resolutions for efficiency consideration. 2) They quantize 2563 RGB values to a small number (such as 512) of quantized color values. The indices of quantized pixels are used as tokens for the inputs and prediction targets of the transformer. To mitigate these issues, we propose a new transformer based framework called "PUT". Specifically, to avoid input downsampling while maintaining computation efficiency, we design a patch-based auto-encoder P-VQVAE. The encoder converts the masked image into non-overlapped patch tokens and the decoder recovers the masked regions from the inpainted tokens while keeping the unmasked regions unchanged. To eliminate the information loss caused by input quantization, an Un-quantized Transformer is applied. It directly takes features from the P-VQVAE encoder as input without any quantization and only regards the quantized tokens as prediction targets. Furthermore, to make the inpainting process more controllable, we introduce semantic and structural conditions as extra guidance. Extensive experiments show that our method greatly outperforms existing transformer based methods on image fidelity and achieves much higher diversity and better fidelity than state-of-the-art pluralistic inpainting methods on complex large-scale datasets (e.g., ImageNet).

Preparing Ganoderma lucidum slices by improved steam explosion enhances their apparent, functional and structural properties

Ganoderma lucidum slices exhibit antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activity, enhancing vitality and longevity. However, untreated Ganoderma lucidum slices fail to meet specific physical and chemical requirements for consumption and processing because their bioactive compounds must be released before intake through effective pretreatment. We proposed developing a novel preparation method for Ganoderma lucidum slices through improved steam explosion (ISE). The effect of ISE (at 0.4–1.2 MPa for 5 min) on their chemical compounds, apparent properties, biological activity, sensory quality and structural characteristics was assessed. The results showed that ISE (0.8–1.2 MPa) increased the content of flavonoids (by 32.29 %–126.57 %), phenolics (by 31.79 %–96.28 %), triterpenes (by 1.74–5.24 times) and polysaccharides (by 6.27–18.03 times) in Ganoderma lucidum slices. Additionally, ISE improved the color saturation and hue of their infusions while reducing the color values of these slices. Under all conditions, ISE significantly increased the soluble solids content (by 1.31–11.44 times) and the inhibitory activity of tyrosinase and xanthine oxidase when compared to infusions of untreated slices. At 0.8–1.2 MPa, the radical scavenging activity of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) was also significantly higher in steam-exploded slices than in untreated slices. In the sensory evaluation, steam-exploded slices outperformed untreated slices in terms of color, taste, form attributes, and overall score. ISE disrupted the microstructure of Ganoderma lucidum slices, whose microscopic structure was broken into fragments, thereby promoting the dissolution of bioactive compounds and enhancing their biological functions, as shown in this study. Therefore, ISE improved the nutritional and medicinal effects of the fruiting body of Ganoderma lucidum by facilitating nutritional retention and resource utilization efficiency.

Effect of edible film prepared with plasma‐activated water and olive leaf extract (Olea europaea L.) as a potential packaging in cooked meat product

AbstractThis research determined the use of edible film (EF) prepared with olive leaf extract (OLE) and plasma‐activated water (PAW) on the shelf life and quality of cooked meat (M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum) product. The characterization of PAW composition and the antioxidant activity and the total phenolic content (TPC) of OLE were determined. Also, physicochemical and microbiological properties and lipid oxidation of cooked meat product coated with EF stored at +4°C for 14 d were evaluated. Cold plasma treatment increased the nitrite/nitrate concentrations and ORP value and decreased the pH value of distilled water (DW). The amount of TPC, IC50 value, and the antioxidant activity of OLE were 71.52 mg GAE/g, 0.46 mg/mL, and 77.39%, respectively. The combined use of OLE and PAW in EF during storage reduced the pH of cooked meat product. Furthermore, the addition of OLE in EF increased the b* values and reduced the a* values of cooked meat product, whereas the addition of PAW did not influence the CIE L*, a*, b* color values. The use of EF prevented lipid oxidation in cooked meat product during storage, especially the addition of OLE to the EF reduced the TBARS values. In this research, the addition of OLE to EF prepared with PAW has a promising application potential in the preservation of RTE‐cooked meat products. Also, these findings suggested that OLE, a by‐product from production of olive oil, might be applied as active packaging in biodegradable films.

Kinetics of Colour, Clarity Changes and HMF Formation in Pear Juice Concentrate During Storage

In terms of providing delicious taste and excellent source of nutritional content, pears are highly consumed fruit all around the world. Pear juice concentrate (PJC) is one of the most frequently used products in the manufacturing processes of beverages, syrup base for canning fruits, vinegar, and wine. Colour, clarity, and the formation of hydroxy methyl furfural (HMF), a mark of Maillard browning reactions, were appraised as quality indices changes of PJC throughout storage. The samples were kept at 47°, 37°, and 27°C for 32 weeks and kinetic criteria were calculated for changes in color, clarity, and the generation of HMF. According to the model of zero-order reaction, the results demonstrated that the quantity of HMF rose linearly with temperature and storage period. The values of clarity and colour were both linearly reduced to align with the zero-order reaction kinetic. The dependence on temperature of the rate constant of the reactions examined and the activation energy values were calculated as 153.14, 93.81 and 61.48 kJ mol-1 for the generation of HMF, clarity, and colour changes with the help of Arrhenius equation.

ALLEVIATIVE EFFECTS OF CHITOSAN AND NANOSILVER ON Solanum pimpinellifolium UNDER HEAVY METAL STRESS IN VITRO

This study aimed to investigate the potential mitigation of copper stress in tomato plants (Solanum pimpinellifolium L0566) through the addition of chitosan (CH) or nanosilver (nAg) to Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium under in vitro conditions. Various growth parameters; the proline, malondialdehyde (MDA), total polyphenol and mineral contents; and CIE L*a*b* colour parameters were evaluated. After the multiplication stage, the explants were transferred to MS medium (control); MS + 20 ppm chitosan with a molecular weight of 3.33 kDa (CH3.33); MS + 6 mg l–1 nAg; MS + 100 μM l–1 copper sulfate (CuSO4); MS+20 ppm CH3.33+100 μM l–1 CuSO4; or MS + 6 mg l–1 nAg + 100 μM l–1 CuSO4. The results indicated that while CuSO4 or CuSO4-nAg solutions inhibited growth traits, CH3.33 stimulated growth, particularly shoot production, and plants treated with CH3.33 exhibited better developed roots and a higher fresh mass. Additionally, CH3.33 alleviated the negative effects of CuSO4 on the proline, MDA and total polyphenol contents in tomato plants. Moreover, tomato explants exhibited greener leaves, while those treated with nAg and CuSO4 showed decreased colour values. CH3.33 or nAg positively influenced the mineral content of tomato leaves under heavy metal stress. This study underscores the complex interactions between growth medium components on tomato plant growth, physiology and the mineral content, highlighting the potential of chitosan in mitigating heavy metal stress in tomato plants.

Evaluation of Postharvest Quality of Fresh Kesum Leaves (Persicaria minor) during Storage in Different Temperatures and Packaging

Persicaria minor, locally known as kesum, is an herb synonym in Southeast Asia as a food flavor enhancer and seasoning for Eastern delicacies. Kesum leaves are quickly wilted, shrink, and lose moisture once harvested. This study aimed to determine optimum parameters: storage temperature and suitable packaging to maintain the freshness and quality of kesum and prolong the storage life. This study consisted of two activities: determining the best storage temperature and determining suitable packaging. For the first activity, kesum leaves were harvested manually from matured plants, transported to a packinghouse, sorted, cleaned, packed, and sealed in polyethylene (PE) 0.04mm before being stored at different temperatures, which were 5°C, 8°C, 10°C and 13°C, while for the second activity, kesum leaves were packed and sealed in different packaging: polyethylene (PE) 0.04mm and polypropylene (PP) 0.04mm and stored at 5°C. The postharvest quality of all samples and treatments (weight, moisture content, pH, total titratable acidity, total soluble solids, respiration rate of the leaves, total phenolic content, and leaf color values) was measured and recorded weekly throughout the storage period. The study's results found that storing fresh kesum leaves at 5°C temperature and in PE 0.04mm packaging can delay the senescence and maintain the quality and postharvest attributes for up to 35 days, as shown in lower respiration rate, maintain the pH, total titratable acidity, total soluble solids and color of the leaves, and show higher total phenolic content for up to 35 days of storage compared to storing in temperature of 8°C, 10°C, and 13°C and PP 0.04mm packaging.

Effects of Different Types of Starches on Katjang Goat Meat Emulsion Characteristics

Katjang goat meat has the potential to be used for emulsified meat product production but the suitable starch type to be applied as the filler is unknown. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of various starches on the quality characteristic of Katjang goat meat emulsion. Katjang goat meat emulsion was prepared by incorporating various starches viz., tapioca starch (TS), sago starch (SS), and wheat starch (WS), as filler by replacing lean meat. The developed emulsion samples were evaluated for physiochemical, proximate, colour, texture, and gel strength. The addition of TS into meat emulsion results in the most stable emulsion as exhibited by the lowest total expressible fluid (%TEF), expressible fat (%EFAT), and cooking loss. There was no significant (p&gt;0.05) difference for the pH, water holding capacity (WHC), texture profile analysis (TPA), and colour values of all the samples. The incorporation of SS in the formulation decreased (p&lt;0.05) the shear force and work of shearing. In conclusion, the incorporation of TS was found optimum to formulate goat meat emulsion with better quality characteristics.

Characterization of Palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer Linn.) sap after harvest across different pH ranges for production of palm sugar

The quality of palm sap harvested from the inflorescence of Palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer Linn.) trees can vary significantly from one container to another, affecting the production of palm sugar. Assessing the pH of the sap is a quick and convenient method for farmers to gauge its quality in Palmyra palm fields. In this study, palm sap collected from various containers was categorized into four groups based on different pH ranges. The objectives were to assess the physical, chemical, and microbiological characteristics of each group and to correlate these characteristics using principal component analysis, as well as to produce palm sugar from each group. The findings revealed that the palm sap with a pH below 5.0 (pHA) exhibited higher levels of reducing sugars, titratable acidity, and total phenolic substances, along with increased lactic acid bacteria (LAB) loads, larger particle sizes, lower contents of total and non-reducing sugar, protein, amino acids, and browning color values compared to sap from other pH ranges (pHB: 5.6–6.5, pHC: 6.9–7.5, and pHD: above 8.0). Principal component analysis indicated similarities between the palm sap groups of pHC and pHD, which were highly correlated with protein and total amino acids, total sugar contents, browning index, and color values of a* and b*. Conversely, pHA was distinct, being highly correlated with reducing sugar and total phenolic contents, titratable acidity, LAB loads, L* value, and particle volume. Meanwhile, pHB showed a high correlation with potassium and calcium contents, % transmission, electrical conductivity, and coliform loads. Crystallization of palm sugar derived from pHA sap was challenging, whereas sugar from the other sap groups readily crystallized. It can be concluded that pH evaluation strongly contributed to parameters of palm sap quality for palm sugar production.

INFLUENCE OF ABUTMENT MATERIAL, CEMENT THICKNESS, AND CROWN TYPE ON THE FINAL COLOR OF IMPLANT-SUPPORTED RESTORATIONS.

To evaluate the influence of abutment material, cement thickness, and crown type on the esthetics of implant supported restorations. In total, 60 specimens were prepared to represent six abutment groups: Group PA &#61; pink-anodized Ti; Group GA &#61; gold-anodized Ti; Group T &#61; nonanodized Ti; Group H &#61; hybrid (Ti &#43; zirconia); Group P &#61; PEEK (Ti &#43; PEEK); and Group C &#61; composite resin (control). Crown specimens (n &#61; 120) were obtained from Vita Enamic (VE) and Vita Suprinity (VS). Two cement thicknesses (0.1 and 0.2 mm) were used. The color values of crown configura:ons were measured and ΔE00* values were calculated. Statistical analyses included were Shapiro Wilk, three-way ANOVA, and Tukey HSD tests (P ≤ .05). Abutment (P < .001) and crown materials (P &#61; .001) had a significant effect on ΔE00* values, while cement thickness did not. Groups PA and H resulted in significantly lower mean ΔE00* values than other abutments, whereas Group T revealed the highest. Unlike VS, cement thicknesses created a significant difference on the ΔE00* values for VE (P ≤.05). Pink-anodized Ti or hybrid abutments for VE and pink- or goldanodized Ti for VS seem to be better options, in terms of color change. Cement thickness of 0.1 mm resulted in higher ΔE00* value than 0.2 mm for VE (P ≤ .05).

Investigation into the Production of Melanin from By-Products of Huangjiu Brewing.

Melanin is a high value bioproduct generated through the fermentation of Aureobasidium pullulans, playing a crucial role in various fields, including food, medicine, environmental protection, and materials science. However, its high production costs and low synthetic yields significantly limit its applications. Therefore, it is essential to identify high-yield strains, reduce production costs, and optimize fermentation strategies. In this study, a high melanin-yielding Aureobasidium pullulans 53LC7 was screened and identified, and the fermentation process was optimized based on melanin yield, color value, and pullulan yield. The results indicated that the melanin yield peaked at an initial pH of 6.0, temperature of 27 °C, fermentation time of 6.5 d, and inoculation quantity of 2.5%, achieving a melanin yield of 16.33 g/L. Subsequently, huangjiu lees, a byproduct of huangjiu production, was incorporated into the fermentation medium, resulting in a melanin yield of 5.91 g/L. This suggests that the Aureobasidium pullulans was not effectively utilizing huangjiu lees. To address this, we employed an adaptive evolution strategy, which increased the melanin yield to 8.72 g/L. The enhanced production was correlated with the expression of key genes, including FKS, PKS, and Cmr1. Finally, cellulase was utilized to convert the crude fibers in huangjiu lees, which were difficult to utilize, into usable substrates, while pullulanase was employed to minimize byproduct formation in the fermentation system, resulting in a melanin yield of 19.07 g/L. This study not only provides promising strains for further research but also offers valuable insights for resource production technologies.

The effects of varying stocking densities during the first 10 days on the performance, welfare, slaughter and meat quality characteristics of broiler chickens in the subsequent period.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of varying stocking densities during the first 10 days on the performance, welfare, slaughter and meat quality characteristics of broiler chickens in the subsequent period (11-42 days). In the study, treatments representing 3 different stocking densities with the same group sizes were established and a total of 432 d-old chicks were used. In the first 10 days of the rearing period, treatments of 18 (SD18), 27 (SD27) and 36 (SD36) chicks per m2 were formed, and at 11 days of age, chicks in all treatments were reared at a density of 18 chicks/m2. Body weight differences in SD18, SD27 and SD36 treatments at 10 and 42 days of age were significant (P < 0.05), they were 252.6, 254.3 and 241.5g in SD18, SD27 and SD36 groups at 10 days and 2961.1, 2874.8 and 2842.7g at 42 days of age, respectively. In the first 10 days of growing period, SD36 showed a significant difference (P < 0.05) from the other groups in feed intake and feed conversion ratio, but this was not significant at slaughter age. The livability at 10 and 42 days was not different among treatments and was between 98.6 and 99.3% and 93.5-93.8%, respectively. The uniformity at 10 days was significant among the stocking density groups (P < 0.05) and the best uniformity level was obtained in the SD36 group, the differences in CV values at 42 days were not significant among the treatments. EPEF (European production efficiency factor) values were not different between the groups, the highest numerical value was determined in the SD36 group. Foot pad dermatitis, hock burn and breast burn levels were significantly higher in SD18 chickens (P < 0.05), however incidence of finger crookedness and valgus-varus deformity did not differ between the treatments. The litter moisture contents were similar between treatments, and ranged from 25.6 to 32.6%. Different stocking density treatments during the first 10 days of the experiment had no significant effect on slaughter, abdominal fat, carcass parts, color and pH values in the breast and thigh meat. In conclusion, rearing broiler chickens by dividing the poultry house area by half during the first 10 days (36 birds/m2) could help to improve the overall productivity (EPEF) by providing ease of maintenance, efficient heating and better control.

A Machine Learning Approach for Efficiently Predicting Polymer Aging from UV-Vis Spectra.

This research has introduced an innovative approach that proficiently forecasts the alterations in ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) of polymer solutions during the aging effect. This method combines readily accessible feature descriptors with classical machine learning (ML) algorithms. Traditional spectral measurements, while precise in analyzing physical properties, are limited by their cost and efficiency. Therefore, this paper introduces a method that utilizes wavelength and the blue (B), green (G), and red (R) color values of the solutions as input features. We employed seven different ML models to train on these features with 10-fold cross-validation to ensure the reliability and generalizability of our results. After comparative analysis, all of the models performed excellently. Among them, the ExtraTree model demonstrated particularly high precision and excellent predictive ability on the testing set, with a Pearson correlation coefficient (r) of 0.9859 and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.0457. This study offers a practical solution for the rapid and cost-effective evaluation of polymer solutions' aging effect.

Leveraging multi-output modelling for CIELAB using colour difference formula towards sustainable textile dyeing

Textile dyeing requires optimizing combinations of ingredients and process parameters to achieve target colour properties. Modelling the complex relationships between these factors and the resulting colour is challenging. In this case, a physics-informed approach for multi-output regression to model CIELAB colour values from dyeing ingredient and process inputs is proposed. Leveraging attention mechanisms and multi-task learning, the model outperforms baseline methods at predicting multiple colour outputs jointly. Specifically, the Transformer model’s attention mechanism captures the complex interactions between dyeing ingredients and process parameters, while the multi-task learning framework exploits the intrinsic correlations among the L*, a*, and b* dimensions of the CIELAB colour space. In addition, the incorporation of physical knowledge through a physics-informed loss function integrates the CMC colour difference formula. This loss function, along with the attention mechanisms, enables the model to learn the nuanced relationships between the dyeing process variables and the final colour output, thereby improving the overall prediction accuracy. This reduces trial-and-error costs and resource waste, contributing to environmental sustainability by minimizing water and energy consumption and chemical emissions.

“No miracle cure” interface evaluation of a UK suicide prevention app in a Norwegian context

Background 600 Norwegians die by suicide annually. Self-help apps may potentially reach and support suicidal individuals, next of kin, bereaved and professionals with educational information, access to suicide emergency help, hotlines, and coping tools. Knowledge regarding feasible app interface for suicide prevention self-help apps in a Norwegian context is however lacking. Aim Evaluate user-friendliness and user interface of the Norwegian version of the British Stay Alive suicide prevention app and assess whether the app could be useful in suicide prevention. Materials and Methods Eight Norwegian Fountain house members and twelve university students evaluated the app interface, and their experiences were discussed through individual- or focus-group interviews. Results Participants perceived app tools as relevant and useful for suicide prevention, however they raised concerns on privacy, evidence base, interface complexity, unintended symbolic value of app colours and content, and suitability in suicidal states. Conclusion The current Norwegian Stay Alive version has the potential to be user friendly, however improvements of interface are suggested. Significance Stay Alive interface must be adjusted and subjected to reiterative evaluations and feasibility assessments in collaboration with additional stakeholder populations to remedy interface concerns, and identify optimal Norwegian interface design, prior to implementation.

Monitoring the Quality of Vannamei Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) in Traditional Ponds in the Regencies of Lamongan and Gresik, as Suppliers for Fisheries Companies in East Java

Vaname shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is one of Indonesia's leading fisheries commodities. Lamongan and Gresik districts are one of the largest vaname shrimp producers in East Java. This research was conducted to determine differences in the growth of vanami shrimp, differences in the quality of vanami shrimp in terms of color, absolute weight, absolute length, and differences in methods of cultivating vanami shrimp in Rejosari Village, Lamongan Regency and Pandanan Village, Gresik Regency. This research was conducted in April-May 2024 using 4 ponds (2 in Lamongan and 2 in Gresik). The methods used are qualitative and quantitative methods, measuring the color of vanami shrimp using a color reader, testing weight and length using the t-test to determine significant values ​​between the 2 locations, differences in methods of cultivating vanami shrimp using interviews with farmers. The results of this study showed that the color quality of vaname shrimp, A (Rejosari Village, Lamongan) in the 1st replication (pond A1) and (pond A2) doc k2 30-doc to 65 showed quite good color values ​​except for pond A in the 1st replication (pond A1). The results of the absolute weight t-test are 0.30 &gt; 0.05, while for the absolute long t-test it is 0.94 &gt; 0.05. The results of interviews with farmers showed differences in the feed used, farmers A1 and A2 used traditional feed in the form of cassava which was grated and then dried, the artificial feed used for ponds A1 and A2 was (multi super feed). Meanwhile, in ponds B1 and B2, traditional feed was used in the form of steamed leftover rice and corn, the artificial feed used for ponds B1 and B2 was (karka).