Discrimination Factors Research Articles

Fluid effect on elastic properties of carbonate and implication for CO2 geological sequestration monitoring

Laboratory measurement of the elastic properties of carbonates saturated with different fluids is crucial for characterizing reservoirs and monitoring CO2 sequestration. However, it is challenging to distinguish the effects of different fluids. We measured eight carbonate samples under varying pressure and fluids saturation conditions, and conducted quantitative analysis. The measurements showed that water saturation can increase P-wave velocity (Vp), while oil and CO2 saturation may lead to an increase, decrease or no change in Vp. Meanwhile, all fluids saturation reduces the S-wave velocity (Vs). The velocities of dolomite samples are higher and less pressure-sensitive than that of limestone samples. Four attributes are adopted to distinguish the fluids effect, including elastic moduli, impedance, Vp/Vs ratio, and a newly designed fluid discrimination factor F, which is proposed by multiplying P-wave modulus and square value of density change. Among the attributes, the F factor performed the best as it achieved evident and consistent results for all the samples. Rock physics models were used to simulate the elastic behaviors with the differential effective medium model predicting Vs the best. The Gassmann’s equation correctly indicated the positive or negative changes of rock velocity after fluid saturation even though its prediction did not exactly match the data. This study highlights the impact of various pore fluids on the carbonate elastic properties through laboratory measurement and theoretical modeling, and introduces a novel fluid identification factor, providing insights for reservoir seismic characterization and CO2 sequestration monitoring.

Study on the Robust Filter Method of SINS/DVL Integrated Navigation Systems in a Complex Underwater Environment

This paper proposes an improved adaptive filtering algorithm based on the Sage–Husa adaptive Kalman filtering algorithm to address the issue of measurement noise characteristics impacting the navigation accuracy in strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS)/Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) integrated navigation systems. Addressing the non-positive definite matrix problem prevalent in traditional adaptive filtering algorithms and aiming to enhance measurement noise estimation accuracy, this method incorporates upper and lower thresholds determined by a discrimination factor. In the presence of abnormal measurement data, these thresholds are utilized to adjust the covariance of the innovation, subsequently re-estimating the system’s measurement noise through a decision factor based on the innovation. Simulation and experiment results demonstrate that the proposed improved adaptive filtering algorithm outperforms the classical Kalman filter (KF) in terms of navigation accuracy and stability. Furthermore, the filtering performance surpasses that of the Sage–Husa algorithm. The simulation results in this paper show that the relative position positioning error of the improved method is reduced by 49.44% compared with the Sage–Husa filtering method.

Activated single nucleotide mismatch determination through toehold-embedded hairpin-mediated strand displacement reaction alongside CRISPR-Cas12a for detection of TP53 point mutation

The CRISPR-Cas12a-based diagnostic platform is renowned for its high sensitivity and, when coupled with the toehold-mediated strand displacement (TMSD) reaction, enables the detection of single nucleotide mismatch (SNM). However, conventional TMSD with the CRISPR-Cas12a system suffers from signal leakage due to overlapping activator sequences and low displacement efficiency. Here, we propose a toehold-embedded hairpin-mediated strand displacement (THMSD) method and leverage the magnesium attenuation effect of CRISPR-Cas12a for selective single-point mutation detection in the TP53 gene. This approach effectively mitigates signal leakage as the hairpin DNA retains partial crRNA targeting sequences within its loop, preventing sequence overlap with the trigger and direct Cas12a activation. Additionally, the magnesium attenuation effect reduces background signal and enhances selectivity. We investigated toehold length and mismatch position to detect SNM with a high discrimination factor (DF). This high DF allows the THMSD/CRISPR-Cas12a system to differentiate between TP53 R273H mutant and TP53 wildtype genes for cancer screening at low abundances, down to 0.1 % with a concentration of 20 pM. When used for screening between H1975 and WI38 cells, the statistically significant difference was attainable with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) template loading as low as 4 ng. These results pave the way for developing CRISPR-Cas12a-based methods to effectively detect TP53 mutations as lung cancer biomarkers.

The relationships between discrimination and academic help-seeking: the indirect effects of the impostor phenomenon among undergraduates students

AbstractAcademic help-seeking behaviors, such as asking peers or instructors to clarify academic topics, are important behaviors contributing to the academic success of college students. However, environmental factors such as experiences of discrimination (e.g., exclusion, being subjected to negative stereotypes) and individual psychological factors, such as the impostor phenomenon or feelings of intellectual incompetence, may dissuade students from seeking academic help. The current study utilized social cognitive theory as a guide to investigate the relationship between perceived discrimination and academic help-seeking attitudes, as well as the indirect role of the impostor phenomenon. Survey responses from 460 racially diverse undergraduates were analyzed using confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling. Results indicated that perceptions of discrimination directly and indirectly – via the impostor phenomenon – influenced academic help-seeking. Specifically, greater experiences of discrimination contributed to higher levels of the impostor phenomenon, which predicted more positive attitudes toward academic help-seeking. These findings demonstrate the influence of discrimination on academic help-seeking among a diverse sample of learners. Particularly, increased academic help-seeking may serve as a compensatory reaction to experiencing discrimination in an educational context. Implications for how institutions can better promote more equitable learning environments and theory-based interpretations of findings are discussed.

Microhabitat preferences in the European green lizard (Lacerta viridis): implications for conservation management of isolated populations

The European green lizard (Lacerta viridis) populations in Bohemia, Czech Republic, are isolated by more than 150 km from the northern border of the continuous range of the species. These populations are fragmented and further isolated from each other. In this landscape mosaic, they are tied to specific habitats located in deeply incised river valleys (the so-called river phenomenon) and thus may be viewed as stenotopic. The research site is located on the northern edge of the city of Prague. Since 1998, this site has been the subject of long-term conservation management aimed at strengthening and maintaining the abundance of the local L. viridis population. To formulate recommendations for the management of other isolated L. viridis populations, we performed a spatial analysis of the localities with observed individuals to determine and evaluate the significance of the chosen biotic and abiotic factors for habitat discrimination. We applied principal components and discriminant function analyses and examined the effect of 24 variables on the species’ presence. The results revealed the principal role of the presence of rock debris and hiding places for lizard occurrence. The strongest negative predictors were the presence of tall grass and high vegetation coverage. We discuss the applicability of our findings in both the theory and practice of species conservation and population management.

Perceived discrimination and pain outcomes among black adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain: identifying modifiable psychosocial risk factors.

Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is highly prevalent, frequently associated with negative health outcomes, and disproportionately impacts Black Americans. Perceived racial and ethnic discrimination has emerged as a factor that may influence the experience of chronic pain in this population. Identifying modifiable psychosocial factors that influence the link between perceived discrimination and pain and that can be directly targeted in treatment is vital to reducing the disproportionate burden of CMP among Black individuals. The present study examines the moderating role of five risk factors (i.e., pain avoidance, pain fusion, experiential avoidance, pain catastrophizing, and pain anxiety) on the relationship between perceived discrimination and pain outcomes (i.e., pain intensity and interference) in a sample of 401 Black adults with CMP. We recruited 401 Black individuals (Mage = 35.98, 51.9% female) with self-reported CMP and assessed their self-reported perceived discrimination, pain intensity, pain interference, and pain-related psychosocial risk factors. Results indicated that higher scores on each of the psychosocial risk factors (i.e., pain avoidance, pain fusion, experiential avoidance, pain catastrophizing, and pain anxiety) were significantly associated with greater pain intensity and pain interference (all ps < 0.01). Further, pain avoidance (B = 0.12, p = .006), pain fusion (B = 0.13, p = .002), and pain anxiety (B = 0.13, p = .002) each significantly moderated the relation between perceived discrimination and pain intensity. Greater perceived discrimination was associated with greater pain intensity at higher levels of avoidance and fusion, and was associated with less pain intensity at lower levels of avoidance and pain anxiety. In interaction models predicting pain interference, both pain fusion (B = 0.14, p = .001) and pain anxiety (B = 0.10, p = .01) significantly moderated the relation between perceived discrimination and pain interference. Perceived discrimination was associated with greater pain interference at higher levels of pain fusion and pain anxiety, and was not associated with pain interference at lower levels of pain fusion and pain anxiety. The present findings provide important insights into psychosocial risk factors that moderate the link between perceived discrimination and pain outcomes, providing important clinical implications for the treatment of Black adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

An auto-focusing method for the lens-free single-shot digital holography based on the dissimilar state

Lens-free digital holography enables multi-focus quantitative phase microscopy for imaging both reflective surfaces and transparent objects. For high-resolution reconstruction in lens-free holographic microscopy, precisely and quickly determining the defocusing distance is essential. In this work, we propose a new single-shot method that relies on the disparity between the captured image and the reconstructions on ergodic planes corresponding to different defocusing distances. This approach effectively generates a unimodal curve, providing a robust solution for auto-focusing and avoiding the need to select different values for discriminative factors across distinct sample types. Furthermore, the simulations and experiments demonstrate that the entire focal-plane search process is simpler and quicker, potentially at least doubling the speed compared to traditional methods. The experiments, conducted in a traditional lens-free system, utilize amplitude and phase resolution targets to validate this method’s applicability. We believe that this method will be an alternative refocusing method for lens-free on-chip microscopes.

Сучасні глобальні проблеми етнонаціональної політики України: на прикладі правового регулювання статусу національних меншин

The article is devoted to the analysis of the problems of ethno-national policy in modern conditions of the development of statehood and points to the prospects of improving the legislation in the context of ensuring the proper legal status of national minorities. The article examines the main problems in the field of ethno-national policy of Ukraine and legal regulation of the status of national minorities. The author emphasizes the absence of a single strategy for the development of ethno-national relations, which leads to fragmented legislation. The implementation of a comprehensive normative act could determine the direction of the development of statehood and form the ideological basis for future normative acts regarding the status of national minorities, indigenous peoples, and other ethnic groups. It is also emphasized that the issues of national minorities were often ignored in national law, and the legislative framework regarding indigenous peoples and the protection of the status of national minorities was formed mainly as a reaction to external circumstances, such as the occupation of the Crimean peninsula. Gaps in legislation make it difficult to ensure the rights of national minorities, in particular, due to the lack of up-to-date statistical data, since the all-Ukrainian population census was conducted only once in 2001. The author draws attention to the low level of tolerance in Ukrainian society, which is demonstrated by a survey conducted in 2022–2024. Respondents often do not consider their actions illegal or discriminatory towards Roma, but do not wish to have themin their environment. This indicates a lack of education regarding national characteristics as a factor of discrimination and a lack of attention on the part of the state to issues of language moderation and protection of the rights of national minorities. The lack of an effective policy of integration of national minorities is another significant problem. The legislator often considers national minorities as a group of citizens of a different ethnic origin living in Ukraine traditionally, which is a wrong approach. In order to improve ethno-national politics, it is necessary to solve problems in related areas, such as education, political rights, participation in local selfgovernment and the fight against hate speech.

Isotopic trophic discrimination factors (Δ13C, Δ15N) and their determinants in a subtropical macroinvertebrate food chain

The accurate estimation of trophic discrimination factors (TDFs) for stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (Δ13C and Δ15N) requires studies for each particular species or taxonomic group, because the use of general TDFs values for all animals obtained from the literature represents an important bias in isotopic modelling. Values for Δ13C and Δ15N were estimated in an aquatic food chain (periphyton-Chironomini-Perithemis sp.), in a subtropical region of South America, under experimental conditions using two approaches: i) Traditional arithmetic equation and ii) Bayesian inference from mixing models. The effect of diet quality on TDF variability was also evaluated. We report values for Δ13C and Δ15N for Chironomini when feeding on periphyton (1.12 ± 1.31‰ and 0.92 ± 1.94‰ for C and N, respectively using the arithmetic equation) and for Perithemis sp. when feeding on Chironomini (0.65 ± 1.52‰ and 0.90 ± 1.08‰ for C and N, respectively, according to the arithmetic equation). We obtained similar results when using Bayesian inference. We did not find effects of diet quality on Δ13C and Δ15N values; although we highlighted that, unexpectedly, the taxonomic composition of periphyton strongly affected the isotopic values of C and N. These reported values improve the accuracy of isotopic modeling for subtropical aquatic macroinvertebrates in future food web research.

Stigma, Discrimination and Other Social-Structural Factors Associated with Barriers to Counselling or Therapy among Women Living with HIV Who have Experienced Violence in Metro Vancouver, Canada.

Women living with HIV face high social and structural inequities that place them at heightened risk for gender-based violence and mental health conditions, alongside health services access inequities, with almost no research done to better understand access to mental health services. This study therefore examined social and structural factors associated with barriers to counselling or therapy amongst women living with HIV who experienced lifetime physical and/or sexual violence in Metro Vancouver, Canada. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression using generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% Confidence Intervals ([95%CIs] are reported). From Sept/15-Aug/21, 1695 observations were collected among 279 participants. In multivariable analysis, with all variables measured in the last six months, experiencing any barriers to counselling or therapy was significantly associated with having thoughts or attempts of suicide (AOR:1.64 [1.02-2.66]), lacking coverage for health care (AOR:1.60 [1.17-2.18]), and everyday discrimination (AOR:1.02 [1.00-1.04]) and anticipated (AOR:1.57 [1.04-2.36]), enacted (AOR:1.48 [1.02-2.16]) or internalized (AOR:1.53 [1.07-2.20]) HIV stigma. Access to interdisciplinary mental health care services should be improved. Social and structural interventions to reduce HIV stigma and discrimination are urgently needed.

“Who’s Got Talent?” Change of Direction, Anthropometric Characteristics and Maturity Offset Differences Between Elite and Sub-Elite Young Soccer Player

ABSTRACT Agility, anthropometrics and maturity-offset have been considered fundamental for talent identification in soccer. The aim of this study is to compare 83 young soccer players (U12) from elite (28) and sub-elite (55) teams, to investigate the influences of anthropometric characteristics and maturation on Change-of-Direction (CoD) with the ball (dribbling) and without the ball. ANCOVA was run to investigate potential differences in Agility T-Test and Shuttle Dribble Test between categories while simultaneously controlling for the effects of anthropometric variables such as Peak Height Velocity (PHV), Weight, and Height. Agility T-Test performance does not significantly differ between the two categories (F-value = 0.537, p > .05). However, the Weight significantly influences the results (F-value = 18.425, p < .001, Eta-Squared = 0.172) and also PHV has a significant impact on them (F-value = 10.099, p < .01, Eta-Squared = 0.094). The Shuttle Dribble Test performance significantly varies between two groups (F-value = 5.207, p < .05, Eta-Squared = 0.057). Only Weight significantly influences this test (F-value = 4.324, p < .05, Eta-Squared = 0.048). Our findings indicate that during the U-12 age period, technical skills emerge as a crucial discriminant factor between elite and sub-elite young soccer players, contrarily to the athletic performance without the ball. In addition, the maturity stage specifically influences the Agility T-Test and Weight is significantly related to lower time to complete both in Agility T-Test and SDT.

Contribution of the diatom Navicula sp. to the growth of Penaeus vannamei post-larvae in biofloc system: a quantitative stable isotope assessment

ABSTRACT The addition of Navicula sp. to shrimp nurseries can improve the growth of Penaeus vannamei reared in biofloc systems. However, the contribution of microalgae to the biofloc formation and the effective contribution to shrimp nutrition remain unknown. In this study, Navicula sp. was added to biofloc nursery systems of P. vannamei at distinct time frequencies for evaluating its nutritional contribution to shrimp growth. Nursery rearing was carried out in bioflocs for 35 days at a stocking density of 3000 post-larvae m−3. Shrimp were fed using a commercial feed plus fresh culture of Navicula sp. at different frequencies: no addition of Navicula sp. (WN – control), the addition of 10 × 104 cells mL−1 of the diatom every 5, 10 and 15 days (N5, N10 and N15, respectively). Food sources relative contribution to P. vannamei development was estimated using a Bayesian mixture model. The isotopic discrimination factor (Δ15N and Δ13C) for each food source was determined experimentally. After 35 days of culture, survival (∼93 %) was similar across all treatments but there was a significant difference in weight gain and feed conversion ratio. The N10 treatment (0.50 ± 0.05 g, 0.99 ± 0.01) exhibited better growth parameters when compared to the WN treatment (0.33 ± 0.07 g, 11.46 ± 0.30). Biofloc was the food source most assimilated by shrimp followed by Navicula sp. and commercial feed. Contribution of Navicula sp. was higher in the N5 treatment. In the treatments with diatom addition, an inverse correlation was observed between the relative contributions of biofloc and Navicula sp., indicating that Navicula sp. is not in the biofloc composition, but it is directly consumed by P. vannamei post-larvae. Biofloc and Navicula sp. exhibited larger contributions to the growth of shrimp, reinforcing the importance of natural food sources to the aquaculture of P. vannamei post-larvae.

Chemometric study on the effect of cooking on bioactive compounds in tomato pomace enriched sauces

Tomato pomace (TP) is an underutilized source of bioactive compounds with potential application in the food sector. A factorial experiment was designed to compare three culinary techniques, Thermomix®, Roner®, and traditional pan-frying, for the preparation of tomato sauces, enriched or not with TP, applying two temperatures and two cooking times. A multivariate analysis was performed on all the results obtained for the metabolites. The addition of TP significantly increased the content of bioactive compounds, especially phenolic compounds. OPLS-DA models were generated using cooking technique, temperature, and time as discriminant factors. The cooking technique had a greater effect on the phenolic content than cooking temperature or time. Thermomix® released bioactive compounds from the tomato into the sauce to a similar extent as pan-frying. Roner® proved to be effective in preserving the volatile fraction of the sauce. The Thermomix® significantly increased the amount of bioactive compounds, while the Roner® increased the volatile compounds.

Profiles of community support and challenges associated with insomnia symptoms: Findings from the pilot Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio Health Study

Study objectivesWe investigated profiles of community support and challenges in relation to insomnia symptoms among the Bhutanese living in the United States. MethodsUsing data from the pilot Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio Health Study (N = 495; 51.5% men, 69.8% aged 18-44years), we used latent class analysis to identify distinct profiles of neighborhood social cohesion, social support, and community challenges (e.g., limited access to healthcare services and transportation, crime and safety issues, substance use, intimate partner violence) and their associations with insomnia symptoms. Insomnia symptoms were self-reported as difficulty falling and staying asleep and dichotomized as “not at all” vs. “some to always.” Identified classes/profiles were further differentiated by self-reported sociodemographic, socioeconomic, health, acculturative, and discrimination factors. ResultsLatent class analysis revealed four distinct classes/profiles. The High Cohesion (class 1) profile (30.1% of sample) had the lowest likelihood of insomnia symptoms at 6.5%, followed by class 2 or High Support (23.6%) with a 15.3% likelihood. Class 3 or High Challenges profile (11.5%) had a moderate likelihood of insomnia symptoms at 49%. Class 4 or the Low Cohesion/Support profile (34.7%) had a 100% likelihood of reporting insomnia symptoms. Class 4 when compared to class 1 was more likely to report cardiometabolic conditions, experiences of everyday discrimination, limited English linguistic proficiency, and not using telehealth. ConclusionCommunity social cohesion and support may play an important role in mitigating insomnia symptoms among Bhutanese refugees. Further investigations are warranted.

Superclass-aware visual feature disentangling for generalized zero-shot learning

Zero-shot learning (ZSL) aims to learn a model trained on seen samples with the ability to recognize samples from unseen classes, while generalized ZSL (GZSL) takes a step closer to realistic scenarios by recognizing both of seen and unseen samples. The existing methods rely on the semantic descriptions as the side-information and conduct tight alignment between the visual and semantic spaces. However, the tight modality alignment may result in incomplete representations, leading to the loss of originally detailed and discriminative information. In this paper, we propose a simple yet effective superclass-aware visual feature disentangling method termed as SupVFD for GZSL. We use the neighbor relations of the semantic descriptions to define superclass and with the guide of superclass, our method disentangles visual features into discriminative and transferable factors. To this end, the semantic descriptions are used as implicit supervision, which preserves the valuable detailed and discriminative information in the visual features. The extensive experiments in both ZSL and GZSL settings prove our method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods for image object classification as well as video action recognition. Code is available at our github: https://github.com/changniu54/SupVFD-Master.

Regulation of nitrogen isotopic ratios of cellular components

This paper is an attempt to generalize the nitrogen isotope information of the molecules that make up the cell from our point of view. Nitrogen in the cell exists as 20 proteinaceous amino acids, nucleobases, hemes, chlorophylls, and others, and their composition is similar among organisms. Based on a physiologically simple autonomous system that maintains a balance between inputs and outputs, it is theoretically predicted that 15N is distributed to each cellular compound with a certain regularity, and thus a specific relationship in nitrogen isotopic ratios among compounds. Previous studies essentially confirm this. The nitrogen isotopic ratio of compound i constituting the cell can be generalized as δ15Ni = δ15Nplant + Δi (TP − 1) + γi, where TP represents the trophic position, and Δi and γi are the trophic discrimination factor and the intracellular 15N distribution of compound i, respectively. Knowing reliable values of Δi and γi will help us to better understand nitrogen dynamics in the biosphere and advance our understanding of the picture of the Earth’s environment through biogeochemistry.

The acoustic change complex evoked by location-change sounds in the elderly

Objective We have shown that the acoustic change complex (ACC) can be elicited by changing the horizontal sound location in young individuals. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the application of ACC within the elderly and its relationship with behavioural results. Design The minimum audible angle (MAA), as well as onset cortical auditory evoked potentials (onset-CAEPs) and ACC elicited by the stimuli of location-change white noise (±45 to ±2 degrees) were recorded. Latencies and amplitudes were analysed using repeated-measures ANOVA. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between ACC and MAA. Study sample Ten older adults with normal hearing (NH) and twenty with presbycusis. Results The ACC was effectively elicited with angular variations in elderly participants. The onset-CAEP N1 latency, ACC N1’-P2’ amplitude, and N1’ latency were all associated with the angle shifts, with the N1’ latency being the most predictive factor for angle discrimination. The consistency between MAA and ACC made them complementary for the clinical evaluation of sound localisation. Conclusions The utilisation of ACC, evoked by location-change sounds, presented a promising clinical objective measure for evaluating sound localisation abilities in the elderly.

The differential diagnostic utility of the social communication questionnaire in mild intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder: a case control study

Objectives This study investigated the utility of specific predictive and discriminative items within the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) for distinguishing between autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), and co-occurring ASD + ID in children. Methods A total of 137 children aged 4 to 12 years (52 typically developing (TD), 34 ASD, 26 ID, 25 ASD + ID) were included in the study. Cognitive development assessments were conducted for the ASD, ID, and ASD + ID groups in suitable cases. SCQ items were evaluated both in terms of total and subscale scores and individual items across groups. Results The TD group had the lowest scores on the SCQ, while the ID group had significantly lower total and communication subscale scores on the SCQ compared to the ASD group. Additionally, there were no significant differences in SCQ scores between the ASD group and the co-occurring ASD + ID group. The ID group had lower scores on both the communication subscale and the total SCQ compared to the co-occurring ASD + ID group. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis of SCQ total scores for differentiating the ASD + ID group from the ID group revealed an AUC of 0.834 for the total score, with a cutoff of 16.50 (sensitivity: 76%, specificity: 80.8%). Logistic regression identified 29 significant predictors distinguishing ASD + ID from ID, with absence of ‘Group play’ (p = 0.003, OR = 4.010) being the most predictive being in the ASD + ID group. Among the top items in the ROC analysis for the ID and ASD + ID groups, ‘Friends (absence of close or best friends)’, ‘Range of facial expression (absence of normal facial expressions)’, and absence of ‘Head shaking to mean no’ were identified as the highest discriminative factors. Conclusions This study highlights the potential of using the SCQ alongside clinical assessments to diagnose ASD in individuals with ID, emphasizing non-verbal communication, participation in group play, presence of close or best friends, and range of facial expression as key distinguishing factors. Further research with larger samples and comparisons of educational interventions based on these indicators is essential for developing tailored educational programs for the ASD + ID group.

An Exploratory Study on the Rapid Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds in Gardenia Fruit Using the Heracles NEO Ultra-Fast Gas Phase Electronic Nose.

Gardenia fruit is a popular functional food and raw material for natural pigments. It comes from a wide range of sources, and different products sharing the same name are very common. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important factors that affect the flavor and quality of gardenia fruit. This study used the Heracles NEO ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose with advanced odor analysis performance and high sensitivity to analyze six batches of gardenia fruit from different sources. This study analyzed the VOCs to find a way to quickly identify gardenia fruit. The results show that this method can accurately distinguish the odor characteristics of various gardenia fruit samples. The VOCs in gardenia fruit are mainly organic acid esters, ketones, and aldehyde compounds. By combining principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant factor analysis (DFA), this study found that the hexanal content varied the most in different gardenia fruit samples. The VOCs allowed for the fruit samples to be grouped into two main categories. One fruit sample was quite different from the fruits of other origins. The results provide theoretical support for feasibility of rapid identification and quality control of gardenia fruit and related products in the future.

Typology of smallholder maize farmers in South-Kivu, Eastern D.R. Congo: implications in improving farming practices and markets

Understanding the typology of smallholder maize farmers is crucial to elucidate the diversity in local farming systems, and therefore, devise effective interventions and policies that maximize the impact of agricultural innovations in South-Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study aimed at characterizing maize farmers in South-Kivu province and clustering them based on various socioeconomic and agronomic factors to identify specific production constraints and devise more effective interventions. A household survey among 300 South-Kivu maize farmers allowed to identify four distinct clusters based on farm size, land use, income, and agricultural technology adoption. The clusters ranged from resource-poor smallholder (Types 1 and 2) to medium-resource semi-innovative producers (Type 3) and highly equipped innovative farmers (Type 4). Key discriminative factors included total farm size, maize farm size, farming experience, access to agricultural credit, income, and innovation adoption rate. This study revealed specific constraints for each cluster, including low soil fertility, poor weed management, low market access, and labor scarcity. This study’s findings demonstrate the value of farm typology in guiding targeted interventions to address specific constraints and improve maize productivity, and suggest specific strategic directions for research and development projects in rural areas of the South-Kivu province.