The use of hyperspectral imaging in the visible and near infrared region to discriminate between table grapes harvested at different times

Traditional analytical methods applied to the measurement of grape maturity and quality index in order to assess optimal harvest time have been proved to be slow and destructive. Therefore, non-destructive analytical techniques, including spectroscopy, can be a valid support for the choice of the best time to harvest. This study evaluated the feasibility of using a visible and near infrared spectral scanner (v. 1.4; DV Srl, Padova, Italy) with a detector in the region between 400-1000 nm to discriminate between grapes harvested at different times. Twelve clusters were harvested at 5 different times between October and December 2011. Spectra were acquired with a Spectral scanner on 3 intact berries from each bunch. These were randomly selected from top, medium and bottom zones, for a total of 180 spectra. Classification models were construed comparing 2 methods: soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The SIMCA model was developed building individual principal component analysis (PCA) models for the spectra of each harvest time. Different pre-treatment methods were tested in order to enhance the power of the model, thus enhancing the score differences among samples from different harvest times. The transformation that allowed the best statistical separation among scores of grapes from different harvest times was the second derivate of Norris. Therefore, the PCA model obtained from the spectra subjected to this pre-treatment was used for SIMCA classification. The PLS-DA model were developed applying the PLS2 algorithm. In order to construct discriminant models to classify bunch spectra according to the 5 harvest times, spectral variations were correlated with the 5 categories established. No pretreatments were previously applied in this last case since they did not improve the final result. The SIMCA method was unable to correctly classify grapes from harvest time 2 (59% of correct classification) and was less efficient compared to the PLS-DA model. Using the PLS-DA model, all the grapes were correctly classified (100%) with the exception of those from harvest time 5 (94%). The overall results demonstrate that this method has excellent potential for discriminating grape quality

Artificial Intelligence, Mathematical Modeling and Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Precision Medicine in Neurology and Neuroradiology

La tesi affronta la possibilità di utilizzare metodi matematici, tecniche di simulazione, teorie fisiche riadattate e algoritmi di intelligenza artificiale per soddisfare le esigenze cliniche in neuroradiologia e neurologia al fine di descrivere e prevedere i patterns e l’evoluzione temporale di una malattia, nonché di supportare il processo decisionale clinico. La tesi è suddivisa in tre parti. La prima parte riguarda lo sviluppo di un workflow radiomico combinato con algoritmi di Machine Learning al fine di prevedere parametri che favoriscono la descrizione quantitativa dei cambiamenti anatomici e del coinvolgimento muscolare nei disordini neuromuscolari, con particolare attenzione alla distrofia facioscapolo-omerale. Il workflow proposto si basa su sequenze di risonanza magnetica convenzionali disponibili nella maggior parte dei centri neuromuscolari e, dunque, può essere utilizzato come strumento non invasivo per monitorare anche i più piccoli cambiamenti nei disturbi neuromuscolari oltre che per la valutazione della progressione della malattia nel tempo. La seconda parte riguarda l’utilizzo di un modello cinetico per descrivere la crescita tumorale basato sugli strumenti della meccanica statistica per sistemi multi-agente e che tiene in considerazione gli effetti delle incertezze cliniche legate alla variabilità della progressione tumorale nei diversi pazienti. L'azione dei protocolli terapeutici è modellata come controllo che agisce a livello microscopico modificando la natura della distribuzione risultante. Viene mostrato come lo scenario controllato permetta di smorzare le incertezze associate alla variabilità della dinamica tumorale. Inoltre, sono stati introdotti metodi di simulazione numerica basati sulla formulazione stochastic Galerkin del modello cinetico sviluppato. La terza parte si riferisce ad un progetto ancora in corso che tenta di descrivere una porzione di cervello attraverso la teoria quantistica dei campi e di simularne il comportamento attraverso l'implementazione di una rete neurale con una funzione di attivazione costruita ad hoc e che simula la funzione di risposta del modello biologico neuronale. E’ stato ottenuto che, nelle condizioni studiate, l'attività della porzione di cervello può essere descritta fino a O(6), i.e, considerando l’interazione fino a sei campi, come un processo gaussiano. Il framework quantistico definito può essere esteso anche al caso di un processo non gaussiano, ovvero al caso di una teoria di campo quantistico interagente utilizzando l’approccio della teoria wilsoniana di campo efficace.The thesis addresses the possibility of using mathematical methods, simulation techniques, repurposed physical theories and artificial intelligence algorithms to fulfill clinical needs in neuroradiology and neurology. The aim is to describe and to predict disease patterns and its evolution over time as well as to support clinical decision-making processes. The thesis is divided into three parts. Part 1 is related to the development of a Radiomic workflow combined with Machine Learning algorithms in order to predict parameters that quantify muscular anatomical involvement in neuromuscular diseases, with special focus on Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy. The proposed workflow relies on conventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging sequences available in most neuromuscular centers and it can be used as a non-invasive tool to monitor even fine change in neuromuscular disorders and to evaluate longitudinal diseases’ progression over time. Part 2 is about the description of a kinetic model for tumor growth by means of classical tools of statistical mechanics for many-agent systems also taking into account the effects of clinical uncertainties related to patients’ variability in tumor progression. The action of therapeutic protocols is modeled as feedback control at the microscopic level. The controlled scenario allows the dumping of uncertainties associated with the variability in tumors’ dynamics. Suitable numerical methods, based on Stochastic Galerkin formulation of the derived kinetic model, are introduced. Part 3 refers to a still-on going project that attempts to describe a brain portion through a quantum field theory and to simulate its behavior through the implementation of a neural network with an ad-hoc activation function mimicking the biological neuron model response function. Under considered conditions, the brain portion activity can be expressed up to O(6), i.e., up to six fields interaction, as a Gaussian Process. The defined quantum field framework may also be extended to the case of a Non-Gaussian Process behavior, or rather to an interacting quantum field theory in a Wilsonian Effective Field theory approach

Music education employment in the State of Pennsylvania.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Physio-chemical quality attributes of ‘Italia’ grapes from organic and conventional farming at harvest and during storage

This study was aimed to investigate the quality at harvest and during storage of organically and conventionally grown ‘Italia’ grapes, collected from 2 different locations in Southern Italy. Four vineyards were chosen in order to have an organic and a conventional farm in each location. Before harvest, six plants per vineyard were randomly selected and considered as treatment replicate. Three bunches were harvested and labelled from each plant. In laboratory each bunch was weighed and thirty berries per bunch were detached and used for initial determination which included morphological (berry weight and dimension, peel thick-ness) and physical (berry color and firmness) attributes, maturity indices (respiration rate, soluble solids content and titratable acidity), and nutritional composition (phenol content, antioxidant activity, sugar and organic acid composition, ascorbic acid content). Then, the bunches from each replicate were kept in individual 15-L jars at 0°C and connected to a humidified air flow throughout the whole experiment. After 7 and 14 days of storage, respiration rate, weight loss, physical and nutritional attributes were also monitored on 20 berries per bunch. Location and agricultural practices affected to a different extent several grapes quality attributes, both at harvest and during storage. Maturity stage, sugar content and berry color were significantly affected by the location, while antioxidant-related compounds were significantly higher in organic grapes. Plant production and bunch weight were significantly higher for conventionally grown grapes, which also received the highest evaluation of external appearance, in terms of stalk dehydration and berry general aspect. Differences among conventional and organic grapes were maintained, for each location, during storage at 0°C. Conventional grapes maintained a higher visual quality during storage, resulting after 14 days below the limit of marketability (score 3) but above the edibility limit (score 2); whereas in one location organic grapes were judged not edible. Results showed a higher nutritional value in grapes obtained with the organic farming system although in terms of visual quali-ty, storability and yield, conventional fruit had a better performance

Cooling demand in integrated assessment models: a methodological review

The paper systematically reviews and compares 88 scenarios of energy demand in commercial and residential buildings that include the additional energy use or savings induced by thermal adaptation in heating and cooling needs at global level. The resulting studies are grouped in a novel classification that makes it possible to systematically understand why the energy projections of integrated assessment models vary depending on how changes in climatic conditions and the associated adaptation needs are modeled. Projections underestimate the energy demand of the building sector when it is driven only by income, population, unchanging climatic conditions and their associated adaptation needs. Across the studies reviewed, already by 2050 climate change will induce a median 30% (90%) percentage variation of a building's energy demand for cooling and a median -8% (-24%) percentage variation for heating, leading to a 2% (13%) increase when cooling and heating are combined, under the Representative Concentration Pathway 1.9 (8.5). The results underscore that models lacking extensive margin adjustments, and models that focus on residential demand, highly underestimate the additional cooling needs of the building sector. Topics that deserve further investigation regard improving the characterization of adopting energy-using goods that provide thermal adaptation services and better articulating the heterogeneous needs across sectors

The effect of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) application before and after cutting on the shelflife extension of fresh-cut tomatoes

[ENG] Exposing partially ripe fruit to 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) before or after cutting may be a useful supplement to proper temperature and relative humidity management for maintaining quality of fresh-cut fruit products. In this study tomato fruits were exposed to 0.5 ppm of 1-MCP for 24 hours, while tomato slices were exposed to the same concentration of 1-MCP for 6 hours. Untreated slices were used as control. Initially and after 3, 7, and 9 days of storage at 5 °C the following quality attributes were evaluated: flesh and skin color, firmness, total soluble solids content, titratable acidity and weight loss. In addition, respiration rate and ethylene production were measured. Fresh-cut tomato slices treated with 0.5 ppm of 1-MCP before cutting showed higher firmness retention than untreated slices, while slices treated after cutting showed an intermediate firmness value. Color development was delayed in both 1-MCP treated samples, which presented higher skin and flesh hue angle value compared with untreated slices. The initial decrease in skin hue angle value was reduced in slices treated either before or after cutting, while those treated after cutting showed the highest value of hue angle of the flesh. Application of 1-MCP did not affect the respiration rate, but slowed down C2H4 production in slices treated after cutting, compared to slices from untreated tomatoes. No significant effect of 1-MCP treatment was observed on titratable acidity, while for soluble solids content slices treated after cutting showed a value significantly higher than untreated slices. Application before processing resulted most effective for firmness retention, while all other effects were more visible when application followed cutting. [SPA] La exposición de tomate parcialmente maduro a 1-metilciclopropeno (1-MCP) antes o después del corte puede representar un método útil, sumado al control de la temperatura y humedad, para mantener la calidad del producto mínimamente procesado. En este estudio los tomates enteros han sido expuestos a 0,5 ppm de 1-MCP durante 24 horas, mientras las rodajas se expusieron a la misma concentración durante 6 horas. Como control se utilizaron rodajas de tomate no tratadas. Inicialmente y tras 3, 7, y 9 días de conservación a 5 ºC se evaluaron los siguientes atributos cualitativos: color (piel y pulpa), firmeza, contenido en sólidos solubles, acidez titulable y pérdida de peso. Además, se midieron la tasa respiratoria y de producción de etileno. Las rodajas de tomate tratadas con 0,5 ppm de 1-MCP antes del corte mostraron mayor mantenimiento de firmeza que las no tratadas, mientras que las rodajas tratadas después del corte han mostrado un valor intermedio de firmeza. El desarrollo del color se ha ralentizado en los dos tratamientos realizados con 1-MCP; las rodajas tratadas han mostrado un mayor valor del ángulo de tinta de la piel y de la pulpa respecto al control. La disminución inicial del ángulo de tinta de la piel se redujo en los dos tratamientos, mientras las rodajas tratadas después del corte han mostrado un mayor valor del ángulo de tinta de la pulpa. La aplicación del 1-MCP no ha afectado a la actividad respiratoria pero ha disminuido la emisión de etileno en rodajas tratadas después del corte respecto a las rodajas no tratadas con 1-MCP. No se ha observado efecto significativo del tratamiento sobre la acidez titulable, el contenido de sólidos solubles de las rodajas tratadas después del corte se ha mostrado más alto que el control. La aplicación del 1-MCP antes y después del procesado ha resultado más efectiva para el mantenimiento de la firmeza y del color, respectivamente

The Charitable Habits of Blood Donors

Introduction: There is a need for a constant supply of blood and blood products (e.g. plasma and platelets) in the American health care system. Common recipients of blood include: patients at risk for major hemorrhage, patients with sickle cell anemia, patients undergoing surgery, and thrombocytopenia in neonatal patients. This demand is met through nationwide blood banks, such as the American Red Cross, and their blood donation programs. The American Red Cross relies solely on volunteer donors; thus, one of the most pressing issues facing this institution is getting donors in the door. Through our survey questions we hope to uncover more factors that guide individuals in their philanthropic ways. The overall goal of this research is focused on unveiling new information that will supply the American Red Cross with valuable insight into their donor population and possible opportunities for joint publicity. We investigated the similarities and difference between how and why individuals undertake certain charitable activities.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1206/thumbnail.jp

The use of hyperspectral imaging in the visible and near infrared region to discriminate between table grapes harvested at different times

Traditional analytical methods applied to the measurement of grape maturity and quality index in order to assess optimal harvest time have been proved to be slow and destructive. Therefore, non-destructive analytical techniques, including spectroscopy, can be a valid support for the choice of the best time to harvest. This study evaluated the feasibility of using a visible and near infrared spectral scanner (v. 1.4; DV Srl, Padova, Italy) with a detector in the region between 400-1000 nm to discriminate between grapes harvested at different times. Twelve clusters were harvested at 5 different times between October and December 2011. Spectra were acquired with a Spectral scanner on 3 intact berries from each bunch. These were randomly selected from top, medium and bottom zones, for a total of 180 spectra. Classification models were construed comparing 2 methods: soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The SIMCA model was developed building individual principal component analysis (PCA) models for the spectra of each harvest time. Different pre-treatment methods were tested in order to enhance the power of the model, thus enhancing the score differences among samples from different harvest times. The transformation that allowed the best statistical separation among scores of grapes from different harvest times was the second derivate of Norris. Therefore, the PCA model obtained from the spectra subjected to this pre-treatment was used for SIMCA classification. The PLS-DA model were developed applying the PLS2 algorithm. In order to construct discriminant models to classify bunch spectra according to the 5 harvest times, spectral variations were correlated with the 5 categories established. No pretreatments were previously applied in this last case since they did not improve the final result. The SIMCA method was unable to correctly classify grapes from harvest time 2 (59% of correct classification) and was less efficient compared to the PLS-DA model. Using the PLS-DA model, all the grapes were correctly classified (100%) with the exception of those from harvest time 5 (94%). The overall results demonstrate that this method has excellent potential for discriminating grape quality

Postmemoria e letteratura per l’infanzia: trasmettere il trauma del bombardamento atomico alle nuove generazioni

The end of World War II and the trauma of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki mark a complete rupture in Japan’s recent history. Both Japanese and non-Japanese authors of children’s literature have addressed this traumatic memory in their works, aiming to pass it on to the next generations and thus contributing to the construction of a carefully curated postmemory (Hirsch 2012) that conveys specific messages and feelings. There are several perspectives from which the catastrophe is retold, shifting from those who are the “victims” to those who can be considered the “accomplices” and influencing the way this specific memory is passed on to young readers. Through the analysis and comparison of three works of children's literature, including Hiroshima no uta (1960) by Imanishi Sukeyuki, this paper sets out to explore a new way of looking at children's literature that deals with the trauma of the atomic bombing, exploring the role that these texts have played in the transmission of this historical memory to later generations

Intensive and extensive margins of the peak load: Measuring adaptation with mixed frequency panel data

In this work we investigate the response of daily electricity peak load to daily maximum temperatures across states in Europe and India. We propose a method that decomposes short- from medium/long-run effects, retains the high frequency nature of the load-weather covariation and treats economic growth as a modulating factor. By simultaneously exploiting variation in unexpected daily weather anomalies and decade-long climatic changes in each location we decompose transitory - intensive margin - adjustments from permanent - extensive margin - adjustments. We find that the shocks over the long-run differ substantially from the short-run dynamics. Furthermore, we find evidence that per capita income modulates the adjustments over the short- and long-run. We project that in response to climate change around 2050 the peak load may increase by up to 20%-30% in Southern Europe and in several states in India, depending on the degree of warming and the evolution of socio-economic conditions. Even with a limited scope to two world regions, we identify that the structure of the economy and differences in future income growth matter in shaping the adaptation to climate change. Our decomposition allows to identify how future weather anomalies can further amplify the relative increase associated to the shift in the climate norm. Assuming that the interannual variability of maximum temperatures follows the distribution observed in the past, we find a doubling of the impacts of climate change during the summer in Europe. Uncertainty around the distribution of future weather anomalies may lead to further unexpected peak load amplifications. Our results have important policy implications for power systems’ generation capacity, transmission and storage, as we show that the challenges to accommodate the peak load in days with extreme temperatures may substantially increase already around mid-century