Portable Near-infrared System Research Articles

360 Effect of the administration of a protected source of calcium gluconate on growth, feed efficiency, nutrient digestibility, and health in beef cattle

Abstract The gastrointestinal tract has a central role in production efficiency due to its involvement in the digestive function as well as in immunological, nervous, and metabolic functions. In ruminants, a great deal of attention is placed on ruminal functionality and safety. However, it is now recognized that the hindgut is involved in the onset of some metabolic issues, normally associated with ruminal imbalances, as well as in the digestion efficiency. Thus, the application of nutritional strategies that target the hindgut are gaining interest in cattle nutrition. The study evaluated the effects of a protected source of calcium gluconate on performance, digestibility, and health in beef cattle. Charolaise bulls (n = 241) were randomly divided into two groups: i) Control (n = 120) basal diets + 10g/head/day of a placebo of wheat bran; ii) Treatment (n = 121) basal diets + 10 g·bull⁻¹·d⁻¹of a protected source of calcium gluconate (Lactibute, Selko Trouw Nutrition). The population was further divided into two subgroups: i) “Overall population” (n = 201) housed in pens of 7to 8 animals each; ii) “Beefmonitor population” (n = 40). The latter was housed in two pens (Control and Treatment) with 20 animals each equipped with two automatic scales for BW located at the drinkers, to evaluate the daily growth trends. Growth performance, feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), were evaluated with specific approaches in the two populations. The incidence of diseases was evaluated equally in the two populations. The apparent total tract digestibility (aTTD) was evaluated on 10 representative pens per group using a portable near-infrared system that compares the composition of the diets and the correlated feces. All the data were analyzed statistically using the SAS software and applying specific models. The average daily gain (ADG) was improved by the Treatment (+40 and +43 g·bull⁻¹·d⁻¹compared with the Control group, in the “Overall” and “Beefmonitor” populations; Table 1 and Figure 1; P = 0.0084 and < 0.0001, respectively), and the final BW were also heavier (706.82 and 705.83 vs 699.75 and 697.33 kg in the “Overall” and “Beefmonitor” populations; P = 0.0084 and 0.037, respectively). The treatment improved both, FCR (6.90 and 7.03 vs 7.51 and 7.28 in the “Overall” and “Beefmonitor” populations; P = 0.0008 and < 0.0001 respectively; Table 1 and Figure 1) and the aTTDs of starch (97.05 vs 95.71%; P < 0.0001), cellulose (57.91 vs 52.95%; P < 0.0001) and NDF (52.02 vs 50.02%; P = 0.020). The incidence of lameness was reduced in the Treatment group (0.99 vs 7%; P = 0.0282). Including protected sources of calcium gluconate can be functional to improve production efficiency and animal health, as a consequence of its proactive role on intestinal health, functionality and epithelial integrity.

A portable NIR system for nondestructive assessment of SSC and firmness of Nanguo pears

An accurate, nondestructive, and low-cost measurement system was developed using a portable near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer (DLP NIRscan Nano), a Raspberry Pi board, a display, a lithium battery, and a self-made three-dimensional printed shell. NIR data were collected through two measurement modes (column and Hadamard transform) based on digital light processing. With this equipment, detection models of soluble solid content (SSC) and firmness, essential quality indicators of the fruit, were established via quantitative analysis using chemometrics and a hybrid wavelength selection strategy. The SSC and firmness prediction model established through the combination of the synergy interval partial least squares and genetic algorithm (Si-GA-PLS) showed higher prediction accuracy, with coefficient of determination of prediction (RP2) values of 0.9406 and 0.9119, respectively, and root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP) values of 0.1655 and 5.5003, respectively. A comparison of the model performance of different monochromator principles was also explored; they were found to be non-statistically significant differences from one another. Finally, data fusion was used to improve prediction ability. The results obtained by mid-level data fusion presented a better performance than using models based on one technique. Overall, the developed novel handheld detector exhibits potential for smart software applications with high accuracy.

Quality Control of Honey Using New Generation Infrared Spectrometers

The objective of this study was to develop a rapid infrared technique to determine 10 key quality parameters (sucrose, glucose, fructose, reducing sugar, 5-HMF, °Brix, moisture content, water activity, pH and free acidity) in honey by using new generation portable and handheld devices. The composition of honey samples (n=59) collected from different parts of Turkey was analyzed by using established reference methods, giving wide range of concentrations for each parameter. The levels of sucrose and 5-HMF in some samples were above the established regulatory limits (Codex Alimentarius and European Union standards), indicating possible adulteration or process and storage abuse. Spectra were collected by using portable Fourier-Transformed infrared (FTIR) and handheld NIR (Near Infrared) spectrometers. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) approach was used to correlate the spectral features with compositional reference values, giving strong linear correlation coefficients and standard errors of prediction. Although both systems performed similarly, portable FTIR system was superior in predictions of sucrose, 5-HMF and free acidity while portable NIR system performed noticeably better for °Brix and moisture content. The data indicates that all of the 10 parameters can be measured within the minutes using both systems, providing reliable screening capabilities, flexibility and the potential for in-field applications.

Simple and Rapid Quantitative Determination of Di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric Acid Concentration Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy

were the conventional method reported for the determination of DEHPA, while the spectrophotometric analysis of DEHPA in an organic solvent has not been taken into account. Total organic carbon method as a general quantitative determination tool for most organic materials cannot be used in organic media such as hexane. Despite the disadvantages of requiring the time-consuming calibration and validation with plenty of samples as well as a proper understanding of chemometric techniques in near infrared (NIR) technique for industrial applications, practically useful instrumentations such as attractive portable NIR system have been suggested recently. 7 In this study, common glass vial was used for the convenient NIR quantification of DEHPA in the presence of the interference from a solvent absorption by using NIR spectroscopic technique equipped with a user-friendly commercial software for a multivariate calibration. This will be technically useful for various field applications. Simple wavelength selection and effect of pathlength were also investigated.

Determination of hydrogen peroxide concentration in antiseptic solutions using portable near-infrared system

Hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2) concentrations in antiseptic solutions (normally 3% H 2O 2) has been determined non-destructively using a portable near-infrared (NIR) analyzer. The spectral variation due to OH band around 1400 nm in the second derivative spectra has been found as H 2O 2 concentration changes. Both multiple linear regression (MLR) and partial least squares (PLS) were employed to generate calibration models over the 1100–1720 nm range. The PLS calibration model showed the better calibration performance with a standard error of prediction (SEP) of 0.16%. In order to validate the developed PLS calibration model, H 2O 2 concentrations in commercial antiseptic solutions were predicted and compared with values from a conventional redox titration method. The results showed that NIR predictions had good correlation with conventional analysis values. The rapid and non-destructive determination of H 2O 2 in the antiseptic solution was successfully performed using portable NIR analyzer without any hazardous chemical solvents.

Development of a method for the determination of human skin moisture using a portable near-infrared system.

In this study, a portable near-infrared (NIR) system was newly integrated with a photodiode array detector that has no moving parts, and this system has been successfully applied for the evaluation of human skin moisture. The good correlation between NIR absorbance and the absolute water content of separated hairless mouse skin, in vitro, was showed, depending on the water content (7.4-84.9%) using this portable NIR system. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used for calibration with the 1150-1650-nm wavelength range. For practical use for the evaluation of human skin moisture, the PLS model for human skin moisture was developed in vivo using the portable NIR system on the basis of the relative water content values of stratum corneum from the conventional capacitance method. The PLS model showed a good correlation. This study indicated that the portable NIR system, as compared to conventional methods, could be a powerful tool for human skin moisture, which may be much more stable to environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity. Furthermore, to confirm the performance of the newly integrated portable NIR system, a scanning-type conventional NIR spectrometer was used in the same experiments, and the results were compared.