Optical Parameters for Using Visible-Wavelength Reflectance or Fluorescence Imaging to Detect Bird Excrements in Produce Fields

Consumption of produce contaminated with pathogens of fecal origin is the most common source of food borne illnesses. Current practice is to visually survey fields for evidence of fecal contamination, and to exclude problematic areas from harvest. Bird excrement is known to contain human pathogens, and is often not detectable in produce fields using current survey methods. The goal of this project was to identify parameters for optical detection of bird excrements to support development of instruments to be used to supplement existing visual surveys. Under daylight ambient conditions, results suggested that reflectance imaging at around 500-530 nm or 610-640 nm could be used to detect excrements from the three bird species tested. Images were acquired using ad hoc camera parameters; however, normalizing intensities for individual images at 525 nm and using a fixed detection threshold allowed detection of 100% of bird excrements with no false positives against the background that consisted of local soil and fresh romaine and spinach leaves. Similar results were obtained using fluorescence imaging. Fluorescent imaging was accomplished in a darkened room using 405-nm illumination. The largest consistent differences in intensity responses between excrements and the brightest non-excrement object in the background matrix occurred at around 550 nm. Results suggested that using reflectance or fluorescence imaging for detection of bird excrements could be a valuable tool for reducing risks of consuming contaminated produce. One possibility would be to incorporate appropriate reflectance imaging capabilities in drones under the control of the individuals currently conducting field surveys.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Perceived control, locus of control and preparatory information: effects on the perception of an acute pain stimulus

This study investigated the effects of differences in a pre-procedure briefing (providing or withholding preparatory information and explicit control) on the perception of the second of two identical acute pain stimuli. 61 healthy participants were allocated to one of three conditions: Information + Control (I+C), Information - No Control (I-NC) or No information - No Control (NINC). Baseline measures of Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) and pain rating using Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) were taken, as was a measure of general internal/external Locus of Control (LOC). Participants were read the briefing and subjected to a second pain stimulus of identical intensity to their baseline measures. Participants rated the second stimulus using the VASs, and compared it to the first using comparison scales. Results show that differences in a pre-procedure briefing significantly altered participants' perception of the pain stimulus. Participants in the I-NC group rated the second stimulus more painful than the first, and participants in the NI-NC group rated the second stimulus as less painful than the first. There is also suggestive evidence that these differences may relate to individual LOC style. We recommend encouragement of patient participation to engender at least the perception of control in clinical situations involving acutely painful procedures

Perceptions of Civil Justice: The Litigation Crisis Attitudes of Civil Jurors

Public perceptions that the civil justice system is in crisis are apparently widespread, but little is known about the causes or correlates of such views. This article analyzes the litigation crisis attitudes of a sample of civil jurors. Like the public, jurors endorsed a number of statements suggesting that there is a litigation crisis. Factor analysis identified two independent components: general concern over excessive litigation, and criticism of the civil jury. Litigation crisis views were found in all demographic and attitudinal subgroups. However, attitudes about the civil justice system were related to the respondent\u27s political efficacy, claims consciousness, belief in a just world, age, religion, and race

A new method for pedicel/peduncle detection and size assessment of grapevine berries and other fruits by image analysis

[EN] The berry size of wine-grapes has often been considered to influence wine composition and quality, as it is related to the skin-to-pulp ratio of the berry and the concentration of skin-located compounds that play a key role in the wine quality. The size and weight of wine-grapes are usually measured by hand, making it a slow, tedious and inaccurate process. This paper focuses on two main objectives aimed at automating this process using image analysis: (1) to develop a fast and accurate method for detecting and removing the pedicel in images of berries, and (2) to accurately determine the size and weight of the berry. A method to detect the peduncle of fruits is presented based on a novel signature of the contour. This method has been developed specifically for grapevine berries, and was later extended and tested with an independent set of other fruits with different shapes and sizes such as peppers, pears, apples or mandarins. Using this approach, the system has been capable of correctly estimating the berry weight (R-2 > 0.96) and size (R-2 > 0.97) of wine-grapes and of assessing the size of other fruits like mandarins, apples, pears and red peppers (R-2 > 0.93). The proven performance of the image analysis methodology developed may be easily implemented in automated inspection systems to accurately estimate the weight of a wide range of fruits including wine-grapes. In this case, the implementation of this system on sorting tables after de-stemming may provide the winemaker with very useful information about the potential quality of the wine.This work has been partially funded by the Instituto Nacional de Investigacio´n y Tecnologı´a Agraria y Alimentaria de Espan˜ a (INIA) through research project RTA2012-00062-C04-01 and RTA2012-00062-C04-03 with the support of European FEDER funds, by the UPV-IVIA collaboration agreement through UPV2013000005, and by UPV-SP10120276 Project.Cubero García, S.; Diago, MP.; Blasco Ivars, J.; Tardáguila Laso, J.; Millán, B.; Aleixos Borrás, MN. (2014). A new method for pedicel/peduncle detection and size assessment of grapevine berries and other fruits by image analysis. Biosystems Engineering. 117:62-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2013.06.007S627211

Family-level coparenting processes and child gender as moderators of family stress and toddler adjustment

The goal of this multi-method study was to examine how child gender and coparenting processes influence associations between family stress and toddlers' social adjustment. The participants, 104 dual-earner couples and their 2-year-old children, were videotaped in their home during a freeplay activity. Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires about stress in their roles as partners, workers, and parents and their child's social–emotional adjustment. Consistent with previous research, higher levels of family stress were associated with poorer adjustment for children. Family harmony, represented by warmth and cooperation, was significantly associated with fewer internalizing problems for children even when family stress was considered. Conversely, coparental banter or ‘playful humour’ between parents moderated the nature of the association between family stress and children's adjustment. Banter between parents was especially protective for girls suggesting that, even in families with toddler-aged children, gender plays an important role in family-level coparenting processes. Future research needs to consider more fully the impact that child characteristics, such as gender, have on the interplay between the family context and children's development. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61329/1/577_ftp.pd

Effect of Stress on Viral–Bacterial Synergy in Bovine Respiratory Disease: Novel Mechanisms to Regulate Inflammation

The severity of bovine respiratory infections has been linked to a variety of factors, including environmental and nutritional changes, transportation, and social reorganization of weaned calves. Fatal respiratory infections, however, usually occur when a primary viral infection compromises host defences and enhances the severity of a secondary bacterial infection. This viral–bacterial synergy can occur by a number of different mechanisms and disease challenge models have been developed to analyse host responses during these respiratory infections. A primary bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) respiratory infection followed by a secondary challenge with Mannheimia haemolytica results in fatal bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and host responses to these two pathogens have been studied extensively. We used this disease model to demonstrate that stress significantly altered the viral–bacterial synergy resulting in fatal BRD. Functional genomic analysis revealed that BHV-1 infection enhanced toll-like receptors (TLR) expression and increased pro-inflammatory responses which contribute to the severity of a Mannheimia haemolytica infection. TLRs play a critical role in detecting bacterial infections and inducing pro-inflammatory responses. It is difficult to understand, however, how stress-induced corticosteroids could enhance this form of viral–bacterial synergy. Nuclear translocation of the glucocorticoid receptor activates cell signalling pathways which inhibit both TLR signalling and pro-inflammatory responses. The apparent conundrum between stress-induced corticosteroids and enhanced BRD susceptibility is discussed in terms of present data and previous investigations of stress and respiratory disease