Infra-red Analyser Research Articles

A new sesquiterpene from Syringa oblata

In this study, the chemical components of ethanol extract from the aromatic parts of Syringa oblata were systematically separated and purified by silica gel column chromatography, thin layer plate preparation and liquid phase preparation. Combined with ultraviolet analyzer(UV), infrared analyzer(IR), nuclear magnetic resonance analyzer(NMR), high resolution mass spectrometer(HR-ESI-MS), X-ray diffraction and other spectrum technology as well as literature physicochemical data comparison methods for structural identification, a total of 10 compounds were identified. They were identified as oblatanoid D(1),(-)-T-muurolol(2), oblatanoid E-G(3-5), 14-noreudesma-3-hydroxy-3-en-2,9-dione(6), 1-isopropyl-2,7-dimethylnaphthalene(7), isocoradiol(8), α-calacorene(9), cadin-4-en-1-β-ol(10). Compound 1 is a new sesquiterpene compound that has not been reported, and the other 9 compounds are isolated from S. oblata for the first time. The compound 1 has a significant protective effect on the LPS-induced inflammatory injury model of RAW264.7 cells.

Measurement of Light-Duty Vehicle Exhaust Emissions with Light Absorption Spectrometers

Light-duty vehicle emission regulations worldwide set limits for the following gaseous pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxides (NOX), hydrocarbons (HCs), and/or non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs). Carbon dioxide (CO2) is indirectly limited by fleet CO2 or fuel consumption targets. Measurements are carried out at the dilution tunnel with “standard” laboratory-grade instruments following well-defined principles of operation: non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) analyzers for CO and CO2, flame ionization detectors (FIDs) for hydrocarbons, and chemiluminescence analyzers (CLAs) or non-dispersive ultraviolet detectors (NDUVs) for NOX. In the United States in 2012 and in China in 2020, with Stage 6, nitrous oxide (N2O) was also included. Brazil is phasing in NH3 in its regulation. Alternative instruments that can measure some or all these pollutants include Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)- and laser absorption spectroscopy (LAS)-based instruments. In the second category, quantum cascade laser (QCL) spectroscopy in the mid-infrared area or laser diode spectroscopy (LDS) in the near-infrared area, such as tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS), are included. According to current regulations and technical specifications, NH3 is the only component that has to be measured at the tailpipe to avoid ammonia losses due to its hydrophilic properties and adsorption on the transfer lines. There are not many studies that have evaluated such instruments, in particular those for “non-regulated” worldwide pollutants. For this reason, we compared laboratory-grade “standard” analyzers with FTIR- and TDLAS-based instruments measuring NH3. One diesel and two gasoline vehicles at different ambient temperatures and with different test cycles produced emissions in a wide range. In general, the agreement among the instruments was very good (in most cases, within ±10%), confirming their suitability for the measurement of pollutants.

VOC emissions from Euro 6 vehicles

BackgroundAir pollution is a major health concern in worldwide. Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) are precursors of secondary air pollutants, with road transport being responsible of ~ 90% for the EU-27’s NMVOCs transport emissions in 2021. A series of VOC emissions from 17 modern gasoline, Diesel and Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles were investigated under various driving conditions and temperatures. All tested vehicles meet the latest European emission standard (Euro 6d and Euro 6d-TEMP). The different VOC species were measured with a Fourier-Transform Infrared Analyzer (FTIR).ResultsDiesel vehicles presented the lowest VOC emissions, while PHEVs operating in charge sustaining mode, with a depleted battery, exhibited very similar behavior to conventional gasoline. Among the VOCs, C5 compounds were the primary contributors to total NMVOCs over WLTC at 23 °C for gasoline and PHEV vehicles. A proportional increase in VOC emissions at colder temperatures, affecting all the studied species, was observed. Significant increases were observed for Aromatics, with an important contribution of < C5 as well. On the other hand, VOC emissions from Diesel vehicles were consistently low and little affected by temperature, except for Aldehydes in tests at − 7 °C. VOC emissions primarily occurred during cold starts, with urban cycle showing higher emission factors due to its shorter distance. VOC emissions remained consistently low during the highway cycle, highlighting a significant reduction in VOC emissions once the after-treatment system (ATS) was warmed up, even under demanding conditions. In Diesel vehicles, total VOCs measured with the FTIR exhibited a slight tendency to exceed Total Hydrocarbons (THC) measured with a Flame Ionization Detector (FID), while for gasoline vehicles and PHEVs, the trend was temperature-dependent.ConclusionsIn summary, the study shows that VOC emissions from Diesel vehicles are significantly lower compared to modern gasoline and PHEV vehicles. Moreover, gasoline and PHEV vehicles exhibit similar levels and emission profiles of VOC emissions. Additionally, ambient temperatures and driving conditions have a significant impact on VOC emissions for all the powertrain technologies investigated.

A rapid determination of wheat flours components based on near infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

In this work, a rapid and simple analytical method for the quantitative determination of moisture, protein, wet gluten, starch and sedimentation index in the wheat flour was established by the combination of near infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics. The spectra of the 229 wheat flour samples were collected by a portable near infrared fast analyzer. The contents of these components were determined according to the relevant Chinese National Standards, and were taken as the corresponding reference database. Seven spectral pretreatment methods were employed to eliminate the optical interference from background and other noise information. The best result was obtained with FD+SG(15, 3)+MC method for moisture, protein, wet gluten and sedimentation index, FD+SG(15, 2)+MC method was more suitable for starch. The principal component numbers (PCs) were also optimized to obtain a superior model effect. Furthermore, partial least squares (PLS) and multiple linear regression (MLR) modeling methods were used to quantify the content of the components. When using FD+SG(15, 3)+MC pretreatment, all the PLS model parameters were significantly better than the MLR model. Both the predicted values and the reference values showed superior linear relationship within the calibration range. Moreover, the absolute error of the predicted values and their corresponding reference values in the PLS model were within their confidence intervals, respectively. The relative errors for moisture, protein, wet gluten and starch fluctuated little, only sedimentation index fluctuated greatly. The actual prediction correct rate of moisture, protein, wet gluten, starch and sedimentation index were 96.8%, 96.8%, 90.3%, 100.0% and 80.6%, respectively, which indicated the prediction was excellent.

Conversion of methylamine in a flow reactor and its interaction with NO

The conversion of methylamine (CH3NH2, 1000 ppm) has been studied in an atmospheric-pressure flow reactor from both experimental and modeling points of view. Several values of the oxygen excess ratio (λ), from pyrolysis to fuel-lean conditions, have been tested, and a large number of different species have been quantified experimentally by three different diagnostic techniques: gas chromatography, Fourier Transform Infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and an infra-red NO analyzer. For the first time, the influence of NO addition (500 and 1000 ppm) on the stoichiometric oxidation of methylamine has also been experimentally evaluated, and the main products of such interaction have been identified. Results indicate that, unlike the little influence of oxygen availability on methylamine conversion, the presence of different concentrations of NO promotes methylamine oxidation at lower temperatures. A literature mechanism has been validated against the present experimental data since previous experimental works under these conditions are scarce. The largest discrepancies have been found for the formation of NH3 and NO as oxidation products, which are under and overestimated by the model, respectively, and under pyrolysis conditions, where modification of the kinetic parameters for the reaction CH2NH2 ⇌ CH2NH + H from the original mechanism notably improves the agreement between experimental and simulated results.

The ratio of electron transport to assimilation (ETR/AN): underutilized but essential for assessing both equipment's proper performance and plant status.

ETR/AN ratios should be in the range 7.5-10.5 for non-stressed C3 plants. Ratios extremely out of this range can be reflecting both uncontrolled plant status and technical mistakes during measurements. We urge users to explicitly refer to this ratio in future studies as a proof for internal data quality control. For the last few decades, the use of infra-red gas-exchange analysers (IRGAs) coupled with chlorophyll fluorometers that allow for measurements of net CO2 assimilation rate and estimates of electron transport rate over the same leaf area has been popularized. The evaluation of data from both instruments in an integrative manner can result in additional valuable information, such as the estimation of the light respiration, mesophyll conductance and the partitioning of the flux of electrons into carboxylation, oxygenation and alternative processes, among others. In this review, an additional and more 'straight' use of the combination of chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange-derived parameters is presented, namely using the direct ratio between two fully independently estimated parameters, electron transport rate (ETR)-determined by the fluorometer-and net CO2 assimilation rate (AN)-determined by the IRGA, i.e., the ETR/AN ratio, as a tool for fast detection of incongruencies in the data and potential technical problems associated with them, while checking for the study plant's status. To illustrate this application, a compilation of 75 studies that reported both parameters for a total of 178 species under varying physiological status is presented. Values of ETR/AN between 7.5 and 10.5 were most frequently found for non-stressed C3 plants. C4 species showed an average ETR/AN ratio of 4.7. The observed ratios were larger for species with high leaf mass per area and for plants subjected to stressful factors like drought or nutritional deficit. Knowing the expected ETR/AN ratio projects this ratio as a routinary and rapid check point for guaranteeing both the correct performance of equipment and the optimal/stress status of studied plants. All known errors associated with the under- or overestimation of ETR or AN are summarized in a checklist that aims to be routinely used by any IRGA/fluorometer user to strength the validity of their data.

Characteristics of Nanochitosan from Soft Shell Crab Culture Waste in TarakanUsing The Ionic Gelation Method

Crab that is undergoing a molting process produces solid waste in the form of shells that can disturb the environment. One of the appropriate technologies that can be utilized in dealing with this waste is the manufacture of nanochitosan. The purpose of this study was to obtain nano-sized chitosan from soft shell crab culture waste by determining the quality of chitosan through analysis of water content, ash, nitrogen, Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) and Particle Size Analyzer (PSA). The material used in this research is crab shells from soft shell crab culture waste. The method used in this research is descriptive quantitative. The results showed that the yield of chitosan produced was 4.67%. The quality of chitosan produced showed 8% water content, 1.5% ash and 4.83% nitrogen. In the FTIR spectra of nanochitosan powder, peaks appear which confirm the bond in chitosan, while in nanochitosan gel it is dominated by the absorption band of H-O which indicates the presence of water as a solvent. The value of the degree of deacetylation of the chitosan nanoparticles produced was 78.43%. The particle size of chitosan by ionic gelation method was 468.1±21.63 nm. The high speed of the magnetic stirrer is able to reduce the chitosan to a stable nano size and prevent agglomeration.

Micro-Fuel Cell Sensor-Based Transcutaneous Anesthesia Monitoring Systems (TAMS)

In surgical procedures, it is vital to keep the anesthetic agent concentration appropriate as a slight variation can cause either an overdose or awareness in the surgery. Most of the anesthesia apparatuses in current practice do not have a system for monitoring the anesthetic agent's concentration; therefore, a convenient anesthetic monitor to continuously measure the concentration is highly expected. The widely used inhalational anesthesia, isoflurane (1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoromethyl difluoromethyl ether) is colorless, volatile, and nonflammable. Therefore to maintain the anasthesia, complex machines equipped with vaporizers and infrared (IR) sensors are used to deliver the required dose of isoflurane. However, existing IR analyzers for the isoflurane have to be operated with highly precise optical alignments, which find limited deployment for critical care in low resource environments due to size, cost, and complexity. Results from controlled or uncontrolled administration of the anesthetic bring serious negative health outcomes. There is an urgent unmet clinical need to cost-effectively ensure the patient's safety and the personnel exposed in the operating room. We are developing a transcutaneous isoflurane biosensor device that can accurately measure volatile anesthetic gas concentration in blood at a much lower cost/unit to address this unmet need. Our approach consists of using micro-fuel cell Transcutaneous Anesthesia Monitoring Systems (TAMS). Micro-fuel cell TAMS is the simplest form of an electrochemical device composed of a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) sandwiched between two metal electrodes. In micro-fuel cell TAMS sensing application, an electrical current is directly generated to the isoflurane concentration. Comparing to the existing IR analyzers, micro-fuel cell TIMS is much smaller but more robust. It can be easily deployed for applications under various environmental applications. This easy-to-use, low-cost anesthetic sensing system will provide the patients' safety during surgical procedures, even in low-resource settings in the developing world. We propose the micro-fuel cell TAMS for cost-effectively and continuously accurate anesthesia detection.

Development of a Wide-Range Non-Dispersive Infrared Analyzer for the Continuous Measurement of CO2 in Indoor Environments

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an indicator of indoor air quality. Ventilation based on the use of a CO2 indicator helps to prevent people from acquiring many diseases, especially respiratory viral infections. Therefore, the monitoring of CO2 is a pivotal issue in the control of indoor air quality. A nondispersive infrared (NDIR) analyzer with a wide range of measurements (i.e., ppmv to percentage levels) was developed for measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) in an indoor environment. The effects of optical pathlength and interfering gases were investigated. The pathlengths of the analyzer were varied at 4.8, 8, 10.4 and 16 m, and the interference gases were CO; NO2; SO2; H2O; BTEX (i.e., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and m-/p-xylene) and formaldehyde. The lower detection limit, selectivity and sensitivity were determined to evaluate the performance of the analyzer. It was found that different pathlengths should be used to produce linear calibration curves for CO2 from ppmv to percentage levels. As a result, a wide-range NDIR analyzer, coupled with flexible pathlengths from 4.8 to 10.4 m, was developed. In terms of interference, only H2O should be taken into account due to its high concentration in indoor air. CO should be considered in some special locations at the ppmv level. The measurement errors for ppmv and the percentage levels were 0.4 and 0.9%, respectively.

Concentrations of retinol and carotenoids in Jersey milk during different seasons and possible application of the colour parameter as an indicator of milk carotenoid content

The aim of this study was to determine concentrations of retinol, β-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin in Jersey milk during different seasons and their correlation with milk colour parameters. During a sixmonths period the Jersey cows (n=77) were kept free-stall and fed with total mixed ratio (TMR; farm season), for the next three months the cows were kept for four hours on pasture and the rest of the day free-stall fed with TMR (transition season), and for the remaining three months they were kept predominantly on pasture (grazing season). A bulk milk samples (200 mL) were collected during the last week of each month in the period between May 2018 and April 2019. Retinol and carotenoids concentrations in cow milk were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography, while milk chemical composition was analysed by a MilkoScan FT 120 infra-red analyser. The season significantly (P&amp;lt;0.05) affected chemical composition of milk, and the highest (P&amp;lt;0.05) content of milk fat, protein and non-fat dry matter was found during the farm season. Retinol, β-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations (μg/100 mL) were as follows: 2.56±0.29, 4.15±0.27, 4.43±0.40 and 0.97±0.04. Lutein and retinol concentrations in Jersey milk were affected (P&amp;lt;0.05) by the season. The highest lutein concentration was found during the grazing season, while the farm season yielded the highest retinol concentration. Moderate and positive correlations (P&amp;lt;0.05) were found between β-carotene and lutein concentrations and colour parameter b*, resulting in a more intense yellow colour i.e. high values of colour parameter b*. The obtained results suggest that milk colour could be used to estimate carotenoid concentrations in milk.

Nondispersive Infrared Gas Analyzer for Partial Pressure Measurements of a Tantalum Alkylamide During Vapor Deposition Processes.

A nondispersive infrared gas analyzer was demonstrated for investigating metal alkylamide precursor delivery for microelectronics vapor deposition processes. The nondispersive infrared analyzer was designed to simultaneously measure the partial pressure of pentakis(dimethylamido) tantalum, a metal precursor employed in high volume manufacturing vapor deposition processes to deposit tantalum nitride, and dimethylamine, the primary decomposition product of pentakis(dimethylamido) tantalum at typical delivery conditions for these applications. This sensor was based on direct absorption of pentakis(dimethylamido) tantalum and dimethylamine in the fingerprint spectral region. The nondispersive infrared analyzer optical response was calibrated by measuring absorbance as a function of dimethylamine and pentakis(dimethylamido) tantalum density. The difference between the mass of material removed from the ampoule during flow tests as measured gravimetrically and as determined optically, by calculating flow rates from the nondispersive infrared analyzer measurements, was only ≈2 %. The minimum detectable molecular densities for pentakis(dimethylamido) tantalum and dimethylamine were ≈2 × 1013 cm-3 and ≈5 × 1014 cm-3, respectively (with no signal averaging and for a sampling rate of 200 Hz), and the corresponding partial pressures were ≈0.1 Pa and ≈2 Pa for pentakis(dimethylamido) tantalum and dimethylamine, respectively (for an optical flow cell temperature of 93 ℃). Pentakis(dimethylamido) tantalum could be detected at all conditions of this investigation and likely the majority of conditions relevant to high volume manufacturing tantalum nitride deposition. Dimethylamine was not detected at all conditions in this study, because of a lower nondispersive infrared analyzer sensitivity to dimethylamine compared to pentakis(dimethylamido) tantalum and because conditions of this study were selected to minimize DMA production. While this nondispersive infrared gas analyzer was specifically developed for pentakis(dimethylamido) tantalum and dimethylamine, it is suitable for characterizing the vapor delivery of other metal alkylamide precursors and the corresponding amine decomposition products, although in the case of some metal alkylamides a different bandpass filter would be required.

A Potential Approach to Compensate the Gas Interference for the Analysis of NO by a Non-dispersive Infrared Technique.

Interference is a pivotal issue of a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor and analyzer. Therefore, the main contribution of this study is to introduce a potential method to compensate for the interference of the NDIR analysis. A potential method to compensate for the interference of a nitric oxide (NO) NDIR analyzer was developed. Double bandpass filters (BPFs) with HITRAN (high-resolution transmission molecular absorption database)-based wavelengths were used to create an ultranarrow bandwidth, where there were least-interfering effects with respect to the coal-fired power plant emission gas compositions. Key emission gases from a coal-fired power plant, comprising carbon monoxide (CO), NO, sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and water (H2O) (in the form of vapor), were used to investigate the gas interference. The mixtures of those gases were also used to investigate the performance of the double BPFs. We found that CO, CO2, SO2, and H2O significantly affected the detection of NO when a commercial, single narrow BPF was used. In contrast, the double BPFs could remove the interference of CO, NO2, SO2, and CO2 in terms of their concentrations. In the case of H2O, the filter performed well until a level of 50% relative humidity at 25 °C. Moreover, the signal-to-noise ratio of the analyzer was approximately 10 when the double BPFs were applied. In addition, the limit of detection of the analyzer with the double BPFs was approximately 4 ppm, whereas that with the commercial one was 1.3 ppm. Therefore, double BPFs could be used for an NO NDIR analyzer instead of a gas filter correlation to improve the selectivity of the analyzer under the condition of a known gas composition, such as a coal-fired power plant. However, the sensitivity of the analyzer would be decreased.

On-road detection of trucks with high NOx emissions from a patrol vehicle with on-board FTIR analyzer

Technological advances in heavy-duty vehicle engines, allowing them to reach NOx emissions comparable to European diesel passenger cars per km driven, are being compromised by aftermarket defeat devices such as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) emulators, many of which can be quickly deactivated by the driver. In a pilot study, the prevalence of trucks with excess NOx emissions on Czech motorways was evaluated using an ordinary Customs Administration patrol vehicle temporarily fitted with a portable fast-response Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) analyzer, acting as an impromptu chase vehicle. The Euro emissions category of the truck was provided from the motorway toll collection transponders. A total of 222 unique trucks were measured during a one-week pilot project. Of these, 66% were Euro VI, 25% were Euro V, and 9% were older categories. NO/CO2 ratios were calculated as a ratio of numerical integrals of the peaks of measured concentrations, as a ratio of maximum measured concentrations, and by linear regression, with the regression approach yielding most realistic results and mean calculated error of 0.2 g/kWh NO. At assumed 85% NO in NOx and 634 g/kWh mean CO2 emissions, the mean emissions of the cleanest 83% of Euro V and cleanest 63% of Euro VI trucks were within the corresponding NOx limit (2 g/kWh for Euro V, 0.46 g/kWh for Euro VI) multiplied by a factor of 1.5. Providing for some allowance for legitimate occurrences of high NOx emissions, about 10–15% of Euro V and about 10–25% of Euro VI trucks are believed to be excess emitters, with no SCR functionality on about 10–15% of Euro VI trucks. The portable FTIR, temporarily mounted on a law enforcement vehicle, can be readily used as a screening tool, identifying vehicles to be stopped for additional inspection, but also during roadside emissions inspections.

Preparation and Characterization of Activated Carbon from Gayo Coffee Shell as an Adsorbent for Removal of Lead (Pb) in Liquid Waste

Adsorption been a popular low-cost and environmentally friendly method that can be used to reduce heavy metals in wastewater especially with the use of biomass-sourced sorbents. In this study, the adsorbent was prepared from the coffee shell. The Performance of the prepared adsorbent was studied on the adsorption of Pb(II). The initial concentration of Pb(II) solution used was 300 mg/L and contact time was varied to 0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 minutes. The characteristics of the sorbent were studied in terms of moisture content, ash content, and adsorption of I2. Further characterizations of the coffee shell sorbent were also carried out using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectrophotometer (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Surface Area Analyzer (SAA). The characterization results showed that the prepared sorbent meets the quality requirements according to SNI 06-3730-1995. The results from the adsorption process revealed that the maximum absorption capacity that can be performed by sorbent was 170.26 mg/g at the equilibrium time of 90 minutes. In conclusion, the coffee shell can be a potential biomass material to prepare adsorbent with high removal performance of heavy metal.

Experimental study on unregulated emission characteristics of a two-wheeler with ethanol-gasoline blends (E0 to E50)

The study investigated the unregulated emission characteristics of a two-wheeler running on commercial gasoline (E0) and different ethanol-gasoline blends such as E10, E20, E30, E40 & E50. The physico-chemical properties of all the test fuels are presented. The two-wheeler was tested using chassis dynamometer for steady speed operation as well as transient emission test cycle. The emission species were measured using Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) analyzer. Ethanol in gasoline enhances the fuel quality of the blend mainly octane number. The results indicate that carbonyls such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde increased linearly with ethanol-gasoline blends. It is observed with ethanol-gasoline blend that acetaldehyde emission was three times higher than formaldehyde emission. The saturated hydrocarbon emissions (methane and ethane) increased with ethanol blends beyond E20. Aromatics (toluene), unburned ethanol emissions were higher with E30, E40 & E50 compared to neat gasoline and the blends. Ethene and propylene emissions were significantly higher with E40 & E50. All the unregulated emission components decreased with the increase in vehicle speed. The emission data and results presented in this paper could be useful to develop emission control strategies for two-wheelers.

Accuracy and Reliability of Infrared Analyzers for Measuring Human Milk Macronutrients in a Milk Bank Setting

ABSTRACTBackgroundInfrared (IR) analysis is an emerging technology that may be a useful tool for milk banks to manage the nutrient variability in donor human milk.ObjectiveTo evaluate the accuracy, reliability, and comparability of commercial infrared analyzers for measuring human milk macronutrients in a milk bank setting.MethodsThree nonprofit milk banks received blinded test kits of human milk that had been assessed using reference methods. Four infrared instruments were used to measure macronutrients as follows: 1 filtered mid-IR, 2 Fourier-transformed full-spectra mid-IR, and 1 near-IR. Twenty-five unique samples were read concurrently for the accuracy arm. An identical sample was read daily for 1 mo for the reliability arm.ResultsValues for R2 describing relationships with reference methods for total fat, crude protein, and lactose, were as follows: filtered mid-IR, 0.98, 0.94, and 0.48; Fourier-transformed full-spectra mid-IR, 0.97, 0.93, and 0.36 for instrument 1 and 0.98, 0.98, and 0.31 for instrument 2; and near-IR 0.93, 0.93, and 0.12. There was no significant difference between instruments for crude protein and total fat measurements. There were significant differences in carbohydrate measurements between instruments. For 1 mo of daily measurements in the reliability arm, CVs for filtered mid-IR were ≤4.6%, for Fourier-transformed full spectra mid-IR were ≤1.7%, and for near-IR were ≤5.1%.ConclusionsInfrared analysis is an accurate and reliable method for measuring crude protein and total fat in a milk bank setting. Carbohydrate measurements are less accurate and are significantly different between instruments, which will likely lead to differences in derived calorie values.

Measuring Regional Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations in the Lower Troposphere with a Non-Dispersive Infrared Analyzer Mounted on a UAV, Ogata Village, Akita, Japan

We have developed a simple measuring system prototype that uses an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) analyzer to detect regional carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and obtain vertical CO2 distributions. Here, we report CO2 measurement results for the lower troposphere above Ogata Village, Akita Prefecture, Japan (about 40° N, 140° E, approximately −1 m amsl), obtained with this UAV system. The actual flight observations were conducted at 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, and 10 m above the ground, at least once a month during the daytime from February 2018 to February 2019. The raw CO2 values from the NDIR were calibrated by two different CO2 standard gases and high-purity nitrogen (N2) gas (as a CO2 zero gas; 0 ppm). During the observation period, the maximum CO2 concentration was measured in February 2019 and the minimum in August 2018. In all seasons, CO2 concentrations became higher as the flight altitude was increased. The monthly pattern of observed CO2 changes is similar to that generally observed in the Northern Hemisphere as well as to surface CO2 changes simulated by an atmospheric transport model of the Japan Meteorological Agency. It is highly probable that these changes reflect the vegetation distribution around the study area.

Change in capnogram waveform is associated with bronchodilator response and asthma control in children.

Airway hyper-reactivity, inflammation and remodeling contribute to inhomogeneity of ventilation-perfusion ratio in asthma. Short-term variations in can cause changes in expired capnographic indices. To measure acute changes in the phase 3 slope of the volumetric capnogram after β2-agonist inhalation (ΔSIII), for comparison with airway response based on FEV1 (ΔFEV1), and asthma control. After ethical approval and informed consent, 72 children aged 6-18 y, followed up for asthma underwent spirometry and capnography before and after β-agonist inhalation through a spacer, using a side-stream rapid infrared analyzer. Asthma control was assessed using the GINA questionnaire. Children with positive reversibility tests (defined as ΔFEV1>12%) had a significantly higher ΔSIII (m ± SE: 87.4 ± 41.4) versus those with negative tests (31.3 ± 14.0%, P = 0.001). Uncontrolled asthma was associated with a significantly larger ΔSIII (103.4 ± 64.0%, n = 7) compared to partly controlled (52.0 ± 26.1, n = 24; P = 0.009) and controlled asthma (30.8 ± 16.3, n = 41; P = 0.003). Neither Bohr dead space nor ΔFEV1 were different between asthma control groups. ΔSIII was significantly larger in children with positive response to β2-agonist, and in uncontrolled asthmatics. To our knowledge these are the first data on exhaled CO2 phase III volumetric slope change and asthma control. The observed ΔSIII could be due to an increased ventilation of inhomogeneous peripheral lung units, and merits further evaluation as a potential phenotypic biomarker in asthma.

Effects of Isotopic Calibration Gases on IR Quantification Analyzer Techniques to Measure CO and CO &lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; in Engine Emissions Testing

&lt;div class="section abstract"&gt;&lt;div class="htmlview paragraph"&gt;Infrared spectroscopic methods are the most common methods in the automotive industry for measuring carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;) gases. Concentrations of both gases, which are emitted from the combustion of fuels, are required to be determined accurately in order to follow strict environmental regulations. Appropriate analytical techniques and accurate calibration gas mixtures are therefore critical for successful measurements. Regulatory documents such as the EPA’s Code of Federal Regulations 40 (CFR 40) part 1065.250, UN ECE-R83, and (EU) 2017/1151 recommend a nondispersive infrared (NDIR) analyzer to measure CO and CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; concentrations in raw or diluted exhaust gas samples. Over the last decade, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry has been validated and recommended in engine exhaust certification testing as well as in engine and vehicle development activities.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="htmlview paragraph"&gt;The variation in the isotopic ratio of &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C/&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;C in natural atmospheric CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; is in the range of ± 2‰ however, artificial or non-natural sources of CO or CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; can potentially have much larger variances. To fully understand the impacts of isotopic composition on the analyzers, the δ&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C values used in this study were selected to cover a broad range of non-natural isotope ratios (very depleted and enriched). In the present work on both FTIRs and NDIRs, up to 4% deviation in analytical results were observed relative to the base case composition (-12‰ &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;CO) when the CO/N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; gas mixture was enriched to 2630‰ with &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C content. Analytical deviations measured on NDIR analyzers were more pronounced (4-14%) relative to the base case composition with the change of &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C in the CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;/N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; mixture from -982‰ to 6783‰. Moreover, the error with FTIR measurements could rise up to a factor of 2 or more depending on the &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C and &lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;C band selection and their evaluation methods. Known isotopic gas mixtures and careful evaluation band selection in the FTIR method were observed to reduce the analytical errors. Even though calibration gases were prepared accurately for molecular concentrations, carbon isotopic concentrations far removed from natural abundance showed significant errors in the measurements. It is therefore essential to have either known or natural ratios of carbon isotope calibration gas mixtures for accurate emission measurements.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

Development of Passengers’ Vehicle Overloading Control System

Passengers overloading control has been a challenge in Tanzania, with the current practices checkup for overloading is done at special inspections points, leaving loopholes to both drivers and conductor deploy alternative ways to circumvent burdens. Sophisticated measures are required in controlling public buses’ overloading because they can help in reducing deaths and casualties as the findings show that excessive passengers is one of the major causes of many deaths and casualties when accidents occur. There are a number of existing technics for passengers’ overloading control in public busses, counting of passengers, video processing using the zenithal camera for capturing the bio-directional passengers flow, infra-red motion analyzer and stereovision are commonly used. The current practice of checking and controlling passengers’ overloading which is done by stationed police officers and SUMATRA is associated with many challenges and limitations, being labor-intensive, not providing real-time data, being reactive rather than proactive, not applicable in rainy and night time, encourage bribery and lacking control are some of the commonly identified problems and limitations.This research concentrates with the design and develops a sophisticated embedded passengers’ vehicles overloading system that monitors and automatically controlling the overloading process. Development was possible through the use of ADCUM Camera,Diode 1N4007, Arduino UNO R3, GSM modem A6, SIM900 Liquid crystal display 16X4, DC motor, Relay 5v, Regulator 7805 and battery 4AH. Both qualitative and quantitative design approach was used when undertaking this research, a stratified sampling technique was used when collecting data and to present findings SPSS was used to analyze data