Classifying of Nellore cattle beef on Normal and DFD applying a non conventional technique

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy in the Normal and DFD classification in Nellore beef using a bench-top hyperspectral imaging system. A hyperspectral imaging system (λ = 928–2524 nm) was used to collect hyperspectral images of the Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (n = 78) of Nellore cattle. The images were processed, being selected region of interest and extracted spectra image and were selected the wavelengths considered most important for the treats evaluated. Six linear discriminant models were developed to classify beef samples on Normal and DFD. The model using all wavelengths associated with the reflectance and absorbance spectrum transformed with the pretreatment 2nd derivative resulted in an overall accuracy of 93.6% for both pretreatments. In this configuration, the model was able to classify correctly 73 samples from a total of 78 samples. The results demonstrate that the hyperspectral imaging system may be considered a viable technology for beef classification on Normal and DFD.     

A study of the influence of the input electrical power on the spectral width of the 510.6 nm line of an atomic copper vapor laser

The effect of the input electrical power on the spectral width of the 510.6 nm line of an atomic copper vapor laser (CVL) is investigated. An analysis of the gas temperature inside the discharge tube and the line broadening mechanism of the CVL is reported. The input electrical power was varied from 2.0 to 4.2 kW in a cylindrical discharge tube of inner radius 2.35 cm and length 150.0 cm. A Fabry–Perot etalon and imaging camera-based setup interfaced with personal computer was used to measure the spectral width of the 510.6 nm (green) laser line. The Doppler broadened spectral profile of the laser emission varies with input electrical power and an additional broadening of almost 1 GHz at the highest operating input power was observed.     

Remote sensing estimation of Chlorophyll a and suspended sediment concentration in turbid water based on spectral separation

Chlorophyll a and suspended sediment are important indicators of water quality, and remote sensing estimation of them is difficult due to the optical complexity of turbid water. The spectrum above water surface is influenced by phytoplankton, suspended sediment and colored dissolved organic material in water, thus spectral separation is important before estimating one specific component. Based on the field experiment of pond water and Taihu lake, China, this study calculated the Gaussian parameters of Chlorophyll a (Chla) and suspended sediment (SS) through spectral decomposition, and then these parameters were used to separate the mixed spectrum of water samples from pond water and Taihu lake. After spectral separation, the Chla estimation model based on the peak height at 650 nm has high accuracy (R² = 0.78, RMSE = 4.80 mg/m³), better than the band-ratio model; the SS estimation model based on the peak height at 811 nm (R² = 0.82, RMSE = 6.80 mg/L) performs better than the single-band model. Results in this study indicate that spectral separation based on Gaussian parameters is a good method for Chla and SS estimation in turbid lake water.     

Image quality of microns-thick specimens in the ultra-high voltage electron microscope

Image quality of MeV transmission electrons is an important factor for both observation and electron tomography of microns-thick specimens with the high voltage electron microscope (HVEM) and the ultra-HVEM. In this work, we have investigated image quality of a tilted thick specimen by experiment and analysis. In a 3 MV ultra-HVEM, we obtained transmission electron images in amplitude contrast of 100 nm gold particles on the top surface of a tilted 5 μm thick amorphous epoxy-resin film. From line profiles of the images, we then measured and evaluated image blurring, contrast, and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) under different effective thicknesses of the tilted specimen and accelerating voltages of electrons. The variation of imaging blurring was consistent with the analysis based on multiple elastic scattering. When the effective thickness almost tripled, image blurring increased from ～3 to ～20 nm at the accelerating voltage of 3 MV. For the increase of accelerating voltage from 1 to 3 MV in the condition of the 14.6 μm effective thickness, due to the reduction of multiple scattering effects, image blurring decreased from ～54 to ～20 nm, and image contrast and SNR were both obviously enhanced by a factor of ～3 to preferable values. The specimen thickness was shown to influence image quality more than the accelerating voltage. Moreover, improvement on image quality of thick specimens due to increasing the accelerating voltage would become less when it was further increased from 2 to 3 MV in this work.     

Accelerating MRI fat quantification using a signal model-based dictionary to assess gastric fat volume and distribution of fat fraction

To quantify intragastric fat volume and distribution with accelerated magnetic resonance (MR) imaging using signal model-based dictionaries (DICT) in comparison to conventional parallel imaging (CG-SENSE). This study was approved by the local ethics committee and written informed consent was obtained. Seven healthy subjects were imaged after intake of a lipid emulsion and data at three different time points during the gastric emptying process was acquired in order to cover a range of fat fractions. Fully sampled and prospectively undersampled image data at a reduction factor of 4 were acquired using a multi gradient echo sequence at 1.5T. Retrospectively and prospectively undersampled data were reconstructed with DICT and CG-SENSE. Image quality of the retrospectively undersampled data was assessed relative to the fully sampled reference using the root mean square error (RMSE). In order to assess the agreement of fat volumes and intragastric fat distribution, Bland-Altman analysis and linear regression were performed on the data. The RMSE in intragastric content (ΔRMSE = 0.10 ± 0.01, P < 0.001) decreased significantly with DICT relative to CG-SENSE. CG-SENSE overestimated fat volumes (bias 2.1 ± 1.3 mL; confidence limits 5.4 and − 1.1 mL) in comparison to the prospective DICT reconstruction (bias − 0.1 ± 0.7 mL; confidence limits 1.8 and − 2.0 mL). There was a good agreement in fat distribution between the images reconstructed by retrospective DICT and the reference images (regression slope: 1.01, R² = 0.961). Accelerating gastric MRI by integrating a dictionary-based signal model allows for improved image quality and increases accuracy of fat quantification during breathholds.     

Quality properties of pre- and post-rigor beef muscle after interventions with high frequency ultrasound

The delivery of a consistent quality product to the consumer is vitally important for the food industry. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for using high frequency ultrasound applied to pre- and post-rigor beef muscle on the metabolism and subsequent quality. High frequency ultrasound (600 kHz at 48 kPa and 65 kPa acoustic pressure) applied to post-rigor beef striploin steaks resulted in no significant effect on the texture (peak force value) of cooked steaks as measured by a Tenderometer. There was no added benefit of ultrasound treatment above that of the normal ageing process after ageing of the steaks for 7 days at 4 °C. Ultrasound treatment of post-rigor beef steaks resulted in a darkening of fresh steaks but after ageing for 7 days at 4 °C, the ultrasound-treated steaks were similar in colour to that of the aged, untreated steaks. High frequency ultrasound (2 MHz at 48 kPa acoustic pressure) applied to pre-rigor beef neck muscle had no effect on the pH, but the calculated exhaustion factor suggested that there was some effect on metabolism and actin-myosin interaction. However, the resultant texture of cooked, ultrasound-treated muscle was lower in tenderness compared to the control sample. After ageing for 3 weeks at 0 °C, the ultrasound-treated samples had the same peak force value as the control. High frequency ultrasound had no significant effect on the colour parameters of pre-rigor beef neck muscle. This proof-of-concept study showed no effect of ultrasound on quality but did indicate that the application of high frequency ultrasound to pre-rigor beef muscle shows potential for modifying ATP turnover and further investigation is warranted.     

Hard magnetic properties of rapidly annealed NdFeB thin films on Nb and V buffer layers

NdFeB thin films of the form A (20 nm)/NdFeB(d nm)/A(20 nm), where d ranges from 54 to 540 nm and the buffer layer A is Nb or V were prepared on a Si(1 0 0) substrate by magnetron sputtering. The hard Nd₂Fe₁₄B phase is formed by a 30 s rapid anneal or a 20 min anneal. Average crystallite size ranged from 20 to 35 nm with the rapidly annealed samples having the smaller crystallite size. These samples also exhibited a larger coercivity and energy product than those treated by a 20 min vacuum anneal. A maximum coercivity of 26.3 kOe at room temperature was obtained for a Nb/NdFeB (180 nm)/Nb film after a rapid anneal at 725°C. Initial magnetization curves indicate magnetization rotation rather than nucleation of reverse domains is important in the magnetization process. A Brown's equation analysis of the coercivity as a function of temperature allowed us to compare the rapidly annealed and 20 min annealed samples. This analysis suggests that rapid annealing gives higher quality crystalline grains than the 20 min annealed sample leading to the observed large coercivity in the rapidly annealed samples.     

Morphology and optical properties of Mg and Sr doped CaF2 nanocrystals

Magnesium (Mg) and Strontium (Sr) doped Calcium fluoride nanocrystals were synthesized by co-precipitation method. The cubic structure of the samples was confirmed by Powder X-ray diffraction. The average crystallite size of Mg doped samples was found to be ~ 25 nm whereas in Sr doped one it was ~ 35 nm. The morphological features revealed that the nanocrystals were agglomerated, crispy and porous. The as-prepared samples showed the presence of hydroxyl groups. The optical absorption spectrum of as-prepared Mg doped samples showed a strong absorption band peaked at ~ 233 nm whereas the Sr doped one showed a prominent absorption peak at 248 nm. A strong PL emission was observed at ~ 300 nm in Mg doped samples. However, the Sr doped samples showed two prominent emissions at ~ 345 and 615 nm.     

Ultra-broad and flat supercontinuum generation in short photonic crystal fiber combined with conventional fibers

In order to gain ultra-broad and flat super-continuum (SC) spectrum, we propose and demonstrate a new scheme. By coupling a train of short pulses with 100 fs width and 16.2 mW average power generated by a mode-locked laser into the scheme – short photonic crystal fiber (PCF) combined with conventional fibers. The SC spectrum has 491 nm bandwidth at −15 dBm below the spectral peak with ±0.5 dBm uniformity 100 nm in only 0.45 m PCF. The spectral bandwidth generated in the scheme increases 292 nm than spectrum generated in the two conventional fibers, and increases 152 nm than spectrum generated in the three convention fibers.     

Absorption spectra response of XRQA radiochromic film to x-ray radiation

Gafchromic XRQA, radiochromic film is a high sensitivity auto developing x-ray analysis films designed and available for kilovoltage x-ray, dose and QA assessment applications. The film is designed for reflective analysis with a yellow transparent top filter and white opaque backing materials. This allows the film to be visually inspected for colour changes with a higher level of contrast than clear coated radiochromic films such as Gafchromic EBT version 1. The spectral absorption properties in the visible wavelengths have been investigated and results show two main peaks in absorption located at 636 nm and 585 nm. These peaks are located in the same position as EBT Gafchromic film highlighting a similar chemical monomer/polymer for radiation sensitivity. A much higher sensitivity however is found at kilovoltage energies with an average 1.55 OD units per 20 cGy irradiation variation measured at 636 nm using 150 kVp x-rays. This is compared to approximately 0.12 OD units per 20 cGy measured at 636 nm for EBT film at 6 MV x-ray energy. That is, the XRQA film is more than 10 times more sensitive than EBT1 film. The visual colour change is enhanced by the yellow polyester coating. However this does not affect the absorption spectra properties in the red region of analysis which is the main area for use using desktop scanners in reflection mode.     

Experimental transition probabilities in the Ar III and Ar IV UV spectra

We present transition probabilities (Einstein's A values) for 38 Ar III (doubly ionized argon) and 14 Ar IV (triply ionized argon) spectral lines from the wavelength interval 240–308 nm. Considered spectral lines are recorded in laboratory pulsed discharge. The relative line intensity ratio procedure has been applied in evaluation of transition probabilities. As a reference for transition probability evaluation we have chosen A value of 241.884 nm spectral line in Ar III spectrum and A value of 280.947 nm in Ar IV spectrum, both obtained theoretically. Careful analysis of experimental and existing theoretical data is conducted in order to deduce uncertainties. Presented Ar III and Ar IV A values are for the first time obtained relying on experimental data.     

Theory and experiment of flat-top all-fiber comb filter based on two high birefringence fiber Sagnac loop filters

A simple flat-top all-fiber comb filter based on two high birefringence fiber (HBF) Sagnac loop filters is presented. The proposed flat-top comb filter consists of two HBF Sagnac loop filters with two polarization controllers (PCs) and a fiber circulator. According to the theoretical analysis, with proper settings of the polarization state of the PCs, the comb filter can realize flat-top passband and the channel spacing also can be switched when the comb filter is convex spectrum. The 0.3 dB bandwidth of the flat-top passband is 0.49 nm with a free spectral range of 1.4 nm. The maximum extinction ratio is nearly 20 dB. The comb filter with switchable channel spacing can be obtained from 0.7 nm to 1.4 nm.     

Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline HAp powders prepared by using aloe vera plant extracted solution

Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HAp) powders were synthesized by a simple method using aloe vera plant extracted solution. To obtain nanocrystalline HAp, the prepared precursor was calcined in air at 400–800 °C for 2 h. The phase composition of the calcined samples was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The XRD results confirmed the formation of HAp phase. With increasing calcination temperature, the crystallite of the HAp increased, showing the hexagonal structure of HAp with the lattice parameter, a, in a range of 0.9520–0.9536 nm and c of 0.6739–0.6928 nm. The particle sizes of the powder were obtained to be 43–171 nm. The optical properties of the calcined powders were characterized by Raman and FTIR spectroscopies. The Raman spectra showed a main peak of the phosphate vibration mode (ν₁(PO₄)) at ∼963 cm⁻¹ for all the calcined samples. The peaks of the phosphate carbonate and hydroxyl vibration modes were observed in the FTIR spectra for all the calcined powders. The morphology tends to change from a spherical shape to a rod-like shape with increasing calcination temperature as revealed by TEM.     

Clustered and integrated fluorescence spectra from single atmospheric aerosol particles excited by a 263- and 351-nm laser at New Haven,CT, and Adelphi,MD

Fluorescence spectra from individual micron-sized atmospheric aerosol particles were measured by a Dual-wavelength-excitation Particle Fluorescence Spectrometer (DPFS). Particles were drawn into our laboratory at Adelphi, MD, an urban site in the Washington, DC, metroplex and within the Yale University campus at New Haven, CT. Two fluorescence spectra were obtained for every individual particle as it was moving through the DPFS system and excited sequentially by single laser pulses at 263 and 351 nm. There were around ten to a few hundred particles detected per second and up to a few million per day within the 1–10 μm particle size range. The majority of the particles have weak fluorescence, but 10–50% of the particles have fluorescence signals above the noise level at both sites at different time period. For the first time, these Ultra Violet laser-induced-fluorescence (UV-LIF) spectra from individual particles were integrated every 10 min, which forms a group of about a few thousand to a few tens of thousand particles, to provide the averaged background atmospheric fluorescence spectral profiles which may be helpful in the development of bioaerosol detection systems, particularly those systems based on integrated fluorescence from a group of aerosol particles, such as Light Detection And Rangeing (LIDAR) remotor biosensor and the point sensor based on collected particles on substrate. These integrated spectral profiles had small variations from time to time and were distinguishable from that of the bacterial simulant B. subtilis. Also for the first time, the individual spectra excited by a 351 nm laser were grouped using unstructured hierarchical cluster analysis, with parameters chosen so that spectra clustered into 8 main categories. They showed less spectral variations than that excited by a 263-nm laser. Over 98% of the spectra were able to be grouped into 8 clusters, and over 90% of the fluorescent particles were in clusters 3–5 with a fluorescence emission peak around 420–470 nm; these were mostly from biological and organic carbon-containing compounds. Integrated fluorescence spectral profiles and averaged spectra for each cluster show high similarity between New Haven, CT and Adelphi, MD.     

Cavitation and non-cavitation regime for large-scale ultrasonic standing wave particle separation systems – In situ gentle cavitation threshold determination and free radical related oxidation

We here suggest a novel and straightforward approach for liter-scale ultrasound particle manipulation standing wave systems to guide system design in terms of frequency and acoustic power for operating in either cavitation or non-cavitation regimes for ultrasound standing wave systems, using the sonochemiluminescent chemical luminol. We show that this method offers a simple way of in situ determination of the cavitation threshold for selected separation vessel geometry. Since the pressure field is system specific the cavitation threshold is system specific (for the threshold parameter range). In this study we discuss cavitation effects and also measure one implication of cavitation for the application of milk fat separation, the degree of milk fat lipid oxidation by headspace volatile measurements. For the evaluated vessel, 2 MHz as opposed to 1 MHz operation enabled operation in non-cavitation or low cavitation conditions as measured by the luminol intensity threshold method. In all cases the lipid oxidation derived volatiles were below the human sensory detection level. Ultrasound treatment did not significantly influence the oxidative changes in milk for either 1 MHz (dose of 46 kJ/L and 464 kJ/L) or 2 MHz (dose of 37 kJ/L and 373 kJ/L) operation.     

Photoacoustic spectroscopy detection and extraction of discharge feature gases in transformer oil based on 1.5 μ tunable fiber laser

Information from the analysis of gasses dissolved in insulating oils is valuable for early a transformer maintenance. By means of dissolved gas analysis (DGA), it is possible to distinguish faults such as partial discharge (corona), overheating (pyrolysis) and arcing in a great variety of oil-filled equipment. Tunable fiber laser-based second harmonic photoacoustic spectroscopy offers a fast and good-noise-immunity technique for the quantitative analysis of trace gases in transformer oil. In this work, the discharge feature gases, such as C₂H₂, CH₄, CO₂ and H₂O, were measured with a tunable laser photoacoustic spectrometer at the 1530.3709 nm transition line, as a typical application of precise measurement of multi-gas, a proposed BSS model based on overcomplete ICA basis and five-point-sampling method based on a created weight-truncation-constraint equation was used to remove noise so that several fault gases can be extracted with a higher detection accuracy and a method detection limit. Experiment shows that within 0.15 nm band near 1530.3709 nm, the four-gas contents have been detected and extracted and the detection accuracy has been improved from available scanning spacing of 0.03 nm to available extracting spacing of 0.0011 nm. At room temperature and atmospheric pressure, this can achieve simultaneous detection for multiple feature gases in discharged transformer oil using laser source with a limited waveband.     

Effects of ultrasound on the beef structure and water distribution during curing through protein degradation and modification

The objective of this study was to explore the mechanisms of power ultrasound (PUS, 150 and 300 W) and treatment time (30 and 120 min) on the water-holding capacity (WHC) and tenderness of beef during curing. Beef muscle at 48 h post mortem was subjected to PUS treatment at a frequency of 20 kHz. Analysis of compression loss and shear force showed that PUS-assisted curing significantly increased the WHC and the tenderness of beef compared to static brining (p < 0.05). According to the analysis of LF-NMR, PUS treatment could increase the P₂₁ values which indicated an improvement in water-binding ability of beef muscle. SDS-PAGE and LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis suggested that PUS induced moderate oxidation of myosin causing polymerization, which may contribute to increased water retention. On the other hand, an increased tenderness of beef is suggested by the increased MFI values and proteolysis of desmin and troponin-T. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) further supported the effects of PUS on WHC and tenderness changes due to the swelling and disruption of myofibrils. Thus, these results provide knowledge about the mechanism for improving WHC and tenderness of beef by PUS curing, which could be employed as an emerging technology for various meat curing processes.     

Influence and correction of temperature on optical measurement for fat and protein contents in a complex food model system

The influence of temperature on optical measurements has been studied for determining fat and protein contents in complex food systems. A model system consisting of mixtures of fat, protein, water and emulsion was developed to create an imitation of complex food systems. The changes in optical properties of the system from 25 °C to 40 °C were measured in the wavelength from 1100 nm to 1670 nm. Irregular changes as a whole were founded and therefore a statistical method was needed to correct the temperature effect. A method called global robust temperature calibration model is proposed and the correction effect was validated. The results indicated that it can significantly reduce the temperature effect on optical measurement.     

330 MHz,sub 50 fs Yb: Fiber ring laser

We demonstrate 330 MHz repetition rate operation in a ring cavity Yb:fiber laser with an innovative wavelength-division-multiplexing collimator to raise the repetition rate. The spectral bandwidth of the pulse is 30 nm and the dechirped pulse width is 48 fs. The output power is 70 mW with 600 mW, 975 nm pump laser diode.     

Fourier transform measurements of SO2 absorption cross sections:: I. Temperature dependence in the 24 000–29 000 cm−1 (345–420 nm) region

Absorption cross sections of SO₂ have been obtained in the 24 000–29 000 cm^?1 spectral range (345–420 nm) with a Fourier transform spectrometer at a resolution of 2 cm^?1. Pure SO₂ samples were used and measurements were performed at room temperature (298 K) as well as at 318, 338 and 358 K. This is the first time that temperature effects in this spectral region are reported and investigated. This paper is the first of a series that will report on measurements of the absorption cross section of SO₂ in the UV/visible region at a higher than previously reported resolution and that will investigate temperature effects in support of tropospheric, stratospheric and astrophysical or planetary applications.