Rapid Determination of Cotton Content in Textiles by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Interval Partial Least Squares

Textile products must be marked by fabric type and composition on the label and cotton is by far the most important fiber in the industry and often needs fast quantitative analysis. The corresponding standard methods are very time-consuming and labor-intensive. The work focuses on exploring the feasibility of combining near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and interval-based partial least squares (iPLS) for determining cotton content in textiles. Three types of partial least square (PLS)-based algorithms were used for experimental measurements. A total of 91 cloth samples with cotton content ranging from 0 to 100% (w/w) were collected and all compositions are commercially available on the market in China. In all cases, the original spectrum axis was split into 20 subintervals. As a result, three final models, i.e., the iPLS model on a single subinterval, the backward interval partial least squares (biPLS) model on the region remaining six subintervals, and the moving window partial least squares (mwPLS) model with a window of 75 variables, achieved better results than the full-spectrum PLS model. Also, no obvious differences in performance were observed for the three models. Thus, either iPLS or mwPLS was preferred considering their simplicity, which suggested that iPLS and mwPLS combined with NIR technique may have potential for the rapid determination of the cotton content of textile products with comparable accuracy to standard procedures. In addition, this approach may have commercial and regulatory advantages that avoid labor-intensive and time-consuming chemical analysis.     

Optimization of Fish Quality by Evaluation of Total Volatile Basic Nitrogen (TVB-N) and Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) by Near-Infrared (NIR) Hyperspectral Imaging

Hyperspectral images contain both spectral and spatial image information and were investigated to characterize the freshness of fish. However, most studies of this application have focused on spectral signals rather than image features. The goal of this work was to investigate the ability of spectral and image textural variables for predicting the chemical and physical qualities of fish, respectively, and to optimize the variables for the specific quality determination. The chemical (total volatile basic nitrogen, TVB-N) and physical (texture profile analysis, TPA) properties were investigated. Partial least square (PLS) was applied to develop fish quality prediction models with the spectral and textural variables from the hyperspectral images. The results showed that the TVB-N content of fish fillets was accurately predicted using the spectra. Meanwhile, the TPA parameters were determined through the image textural features with high accuracy, which indicated image textural features were highly related with the TPA parameters. Moreover, spectral and textural features were also extracted from fish eyes and gills and were further used to predict the intact fish quality, taking advantage of the freshness sensitivity of the eyes and gills. The results illustrate that spectra from fish eyes and gills are a potential tool to predict the TVB-N content and TPA parameters for intact fish.     

Rapid Simultaneous Determination of Andrographolides in Andrographis paniculata by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

The potential of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine has been evaluated. Seven quantitative parameters, andrographolide, deoxyandrographolide, dehydroandrographolide, neoandrographolide, moisture, ash content, and alcohol-soluble extract of Andrographis paniculata, were evaluated by NIRS. The reference values of andrographolides were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the others were obtained using the standard methods of the 2015 Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The predicted values were determined by a quantitative model using NIRS based on partial least square regression. Different spectral preprocessing methods, spectral ranges, and optimum number of factors were selected to optimize the models. All models were estimated by the combination of various parameters, including the correlation coefficient of calibration for andrographolide, deoxyandrographolide, dehydroandrographolide, neoandrographolide, moisture, ash content, alcohol-soluble extract (values of 0.980, 0.984, 0.989, 0.983, 0.987, 0.988, 0.979, respectively), root mean square error of calibration (values of 0.156, 0.038, 0.050, 0.029, 0.604, 0.431, 0.135, respectively), root mean square error of prediction (values of 0.169, 0.041, 0.050, 0.033, 0.280, 0.493, 0.140, respectively), root mean square error of cross-validation (values of 0.626, 0.114, 0.158, 0.046, 1.145, 0.774, 0.508, respectively), and ratio of standard deviation to standard error of prediction (values of 4.583, 4.690, 4.796, 4.899, 4.899, 4.690, 5.099, respectively). The results show that the calibration models by NIRS are reliable and can be applied for the quantification for seven parameters from A. paniculata for quality control in traditional Chinese medicine production and processing.     

Determination of Basic Nitrogen in Residues of Crude Oil Distillation Using ATR-FTIR and Chemometric Methods

A method for basic nitrogen determination in residues of crude oil distillation using infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics algorithms was developed. Interval partial least squares, synergy interval partial least squares, and backward interval partial least squares were evaluated for calibration model construction. The samples were divided into a calibration and prediction set containing 40 and 15 samples, respectively. The first derivative with a Savitzky-Golay filter and the mean centered data showed the best results and were used in all calibration models. The backward interval partial least squares algorithm with spectra divided in 60 intervals and combinations of 4 intervals (1407 to 1372; 1117 to 1082; 971 to 936; 914 to 879 cm^?1) showed the best root mean square error of prediction of 0.016 wt%. This calibration model displayed a suitable correlation coefficient between reference and predicted values.     

Development of Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy Models for Quantitative Determination of Water-Soluble Carbohydrate Content in Wheat Stem and Glume

Water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) reserved in stem is an important agronomic trait for crop improvement. The intact samples and pieces of chipped samples were employed to determine WSC content by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). Three NIRS models were developed to predict WSC content in wheat stem lower internode, upmost internode, and wheat glume, respectively. Moreover, a mixed model was developed for WSC quantitative analysis in the mixed sample of the three wheat organs. Statistics analysis indicated that the four models showed a high determination coefficient (R² ≥ 0.97) and ratio of standard deviation to RMSECV (RPD ≥ 5.99). The NIRS models would allow rapid and high throughout assessments and selections of WSC contents in wheat genetics and breeding programs.     

Quantitative Determination of the Components in Corn and Tobacco Samples by Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Multiblock Partial Least Squares

Multiblock partial least squares (MB-PLS) are applied for determination of corn and tobacco samples by using near-infrared diffuse reflection spectroscopy. In the model, the spectra are separated into several sub-blocks along the wavenumber, and different latent variable number was used for each sub-block. Compared with ordinary PLS, the importance and the contribution of each sub-block can be balanced by super-weights and the usage of different latent variable numbers. Therefore, the prediction obtained by the MB-PLS model is superior to that of the ordinary PLS, especially for the large data sets of tobacco samples with a large number of variables.     

我国黄土区土壤水分、有机质和总氮的近红外光谱分析

用近红外光谱（NIR）对我国黄土区土壤水分、有机质和总氮含量进行评价分析。结果表明,该法与实验室化学分析法之间相关性高,误差小。52份样品定标结果：水分、有机质和总氮的复合相关系数（MR）分别为0.974、0.938和0.942;标准误差（SE）分别为1.08、0.23和0.04。74份样品的检验结果：相关系数（R）分别为0.969、0.921t 0.928;估测标准误差（SEP）分别为1.14、0.28和0.05。3项组分的NIR测值均达到了与实验室化学分析相似的水平。     

Determination of Fipronil in Acetamiprid Formulation by Attenuated Total Reflectance-Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Combined with Partial Least Squares Regression

There is a high demand for rapid determination of fipronil in pesticide preparations because it has been restricted and even prohibited in many countries. An infrared-based methodology was developed for this analyte in acetamiprid formulations by attenuated total reflectance mid-infrared spectroscopy. The quantitative calibration models of fipronil were established by partial least squares regression. The determination coefficients (R²) of the model were above 0.99 while both the root mean square error of prediction and root mean square error of calibration were below 0.0011, which showed the partial least squares model accurately predicted fipronil concentrations in acetamiprid. The accuracy was further demonstrated by comparison with another two models' results of low (<1.0%, w/w) and high concentration sample sets (1.0%–4.5%, w/w). These results demonstrate the potential of infrared spectroscopy to quickly detect fipronil in acetamiprid.     

Determination of Nitrogen in Rapeseed by Fourier Transform Infrared Photoacoustic Spectroscopy and Independent Component Analysis

Fourier-transform mid-infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy was utilized for rapid and nondestructive determination of nitrogen in rapeseeds. Rapeseed spectra were characterized by independent component analysis for quantitative calibration. A calibration model was built by using independent components as the input for partial least squares. Compared to full-spectrum partial least squares, the combined model achieved higher prediction accuracy with a residual predictive deviation of 2.06. Moreover, a genetic algorithm coupled with partial least squares was adopted to optimize the independent components for partial least square modeling and provide a further refined model with the highest residual predictive deviation of 2.12. A t-test verified a high congruence between results obtained by calibration models and the reference Kjeldahl method. This study demonstrated the promise of Fourier-transform mid-infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy for the determination of nitrogen in rapeseeds and the applicability of independent components for multivariate calibration.