Chemometric study on the forensic discrimination of soil types using their infrared spectral characteristics

Soil has been utilized in criminal investigations for some time because of its prevalence and transferability. It is usually the physical characteristics that are studied, however the research carried out here aims to make use of the chemical profile of soil samples. The research we are presenting in this work used sieved (2mm) soil samples taken from the top soil layer (about 10cm) that were then analysed using mid infrared spectroscopy. The spectra obtained were pre-treated and then input into two chemometric classification tools: Nonlinear iterative partial least squares followed by linear discriminant analysis (NIPALS-LDA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The models produced show that it is possible to discriminate between soil samples from different land use types and both approaches are comparable in performance. NIPALS-LDA performs much better than PLS-DA in classifying samples to locatio

Physical, Chemical and Processing Postharvest Technologies in Strawberry

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is a fruit of great acceptance worldwide but has characteristics that make it a highly perishable fruit, with shelf life of about a week, which makes it difficult to transport and store it to consumer places. Throughout the years, post-harvest techniques have been studied to extend their useful life and improve their properties. Strawberry deterioration may be due to various factors such as overripe, fungal involvement, moisture loss, mechanical damage, among others. Among the techniques which have been tried to slow the deterioration of the fruit are the use of modified atmospheres and treatments gases, use of edible coatings and smart packings, application of radiation of various types, use of chemical treatments among many others. In this chapter, we will examine the most relevant treatments applied to the strawberry to extend its useful life and improve its organoleptic quality that have been reported in the literature

The forensic analysis of soil by FTIR with multivariate analysis

Over the past few years more and more studies have been carried out in an attempt to utilize chemical profiles of soil using a wide variety of analytical methods. The value of soil as evidence rests with its prevalence at crime scenes and its transferability between the scene and the criminal. This can be of value for comparison if the scene of crime is known, but could also be so in the identification of a scene. The main basis for the comparison of sites to determine provenance is that soils vary from one place to another. The aim of this work is to find simple methods to identify soil provenance based on FTIR and multivariate analysi

A Simplified Model for the Rolling Shutter Based Camera in Optical Camera Communications

A simplified model of the camera for optical camera communications (OCC) based on the rolling shutter effect is proposed and experimentally verified. In OCC, the key parameters are the exposure time, which is proportional to the DC gain and inversely proportional to the bandwidth, and the rolling shutter delay or the sampling period. We demonstrate a good agreement between experimental and numerically simulated results for the proposed receiver model

Spatial frequency-based angular behavior of a short-range flicker-free MIMO–OCC link

In this paper, we provide a solution based on spatial frequency fsf to study the angular behavior of a flicker-free, short-range indoor multiple–input multiple–output (MIMO) optical camera communications (OCC) link. We focus on the experimental investigation of OCC’s performance for the transmitters (Txs) [i.e., light-emitting diode (LED) based arrays] located at the same and different distances from the receiver (Rx) with the off-axis rotation angle θ. We have used two 8 × 8 distributed LED arrays and a commercial low-cost complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) Raspberry Pi camera with the rolling-shutter capturing mode as the Tx and Rx, respectively. The image and the respective communications link quality metrics are measured in terms of the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and the rate of successfully received bits with respect to fsf for different camera shutter speeds (SS). A CMOS image sensor noise characterization is carried in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and PSNR. The proposed study provides a 100% success rate in data reception at the optimum θ of 50◦ at lower captured values of fsf, which is projected onto the image sensor in the form of pixels. Moreover, the effect of channel saturation over fsf is studied with respect to θ and SS and we show that, for θ exceeding the optimum value along transmission range, the fsf area of the Txs reduces to less than ∼50% of the captured Tx units at θ of 0◦, where no data can be fully recovered

Editorial to the Special Issue on “Visible Light Communications, Networking, and Sensing”

The next generation wireless technology networks and beyond (i.e., fifth and sixth generation) are changing the global landscape for the interconnectivity of everything-toeverything. To this end, different communication technologies, including millimeter wave, terahertz, and optical wireless, are to be utilized. The latter includes the three spectral bands of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared. Recently, we have seen a growing interest in the potential use of the visible band in the front end of the access networks, mostly in indoor environments

Effective Reduction of Radiation Exposure during Cardiac Catheterization

Exposure to ionizing radiation during cardiac catheterization can have harmful consequences for patients and for the medical staff involved in the procedures. Minimizing radiation doses during the procedures is essential. We investigated whether fine-tuning the radiation protocol reduces radiation doses in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. In January 2016, we implemented a new protocol with reduced radiation doses in the Hospital de Jerez catheterization laboratory. We analyzed 170 consecutive coronary interventional procedures (85 of which were performed after the new protocol was implemented) and the personal dosimeters of the interventional cardiologists who performed the procedures. Overall, the low-radiation protocol reduced air kerma (dose of radiation) by 44.9% (95% CI, 18.4%–70.8%; P=0.001). The dose-area product decreased by 61% (95% CI, 30.2%– 90.1%; P <0.001) during percutaneous coronary interventions. We also found that the annual deep (79%, P=0.026) and shallow (62.2%, P=0.035) radiation doses to which primary operators were exposed decreased significantly under the low-radiation protocol. These dose reductions were achieved without increasing the volume of contrast media, fluoroscopy time, or rates of procedural complications, and without reducing the productivity of the laboratory. Optimizing the radiation safety protocol effectively reduced radiation exposure in patients and operators during cardiac catheterization procedures

Effects of Calcium Soaps from Palm, Canola and Safflower Oils on Dry Matter Intake, Nutrient Digestibility, Milk Production, and Milk Composition in Dairy Goats

Articulo estudio en cabras suplementadas con jabones de calcioThis study determined the e ect of protected dietary oils on dry matter intake (DMI), digestibility and milk production in dairy goats. Nine Saanen goats were used in a 3 3 Latin square design with three periods of 25 days. A basal diet based on barley hay and corn silage was supplemented with 2.7% DM of calcium soaps of either palm (PO), canola (CO) or sa ower (SO) oils. Data for dry matter intake, nutrient digestibility and milk production was analyzed using the general linear model (GLM) procedure of SAS. Gas production data was analyzed using the procedure of non-linear regression analysis (PROC NLIN) from SAS. Nutrient intakes were not a ected by treatments. However, compared with CO, the digestibility of dry matter (653 vs. 552 and 588 g/kg), organic matter (663 vs. 559 and 606 g/kg) and neutral detergent fiber (616 vs. 460 and 510 g/kg) were lowered (p < 0.001) by SO and PO. Compared with CO, in vitro gas production increased (p < 0.001) in PO and SO (174 vs. 201 and 206 mL gas/g incubated DM). Compared with PO and CO, milk production increased (p < 0.001) with SO (0.88 and 0.95 vs. 1.10 kg/d, respectively). With regard to PO and SO, CO decreased fat (34 and 35 vs. 32 g/d) and protein (35 and 38 vs. 30 g/d) in milk. In conclusion, compared to the traditional use of calcium soaps manufactured from PO, protected SO resulted in increased milk yield without negative e ects on digestibility and nutrient intake.This research was funded by Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (Project ID UAEMex 3060-2011 and UAEMex4974/2020)

Optical Camera Communications for IoT–Rolling-Shutter Based MIMO Scheme with Grouped LED Array Transmitter

In optical camera communications (OCC), the provision of both flicker-free illumination and high data rates are challenging issues, which can be addressed by utilizing the rolling-shutter (RS) property of the image sensors as the receiver (Rx). In this paper, we propose an RS-based multiple-input multiple-output OCC scheme for the Internet of things (IoT) application. A simplified design of multi-channel transmitter (Tx) using a 7.2 × 7.2 cm2 small 8 × 8 distributed light emitting diode (LED) array, based on grouping of LEDs, is proposed for flicker-free transmission. We carry out an experimental investigation of the indoor OCC system by employing a Raspberry Pi camera as the Rx, with RS capturing mode. Despite the small area of the display, flicker-free communication links within the range of 20–100 cm are established with data throughput of 960 to 120 bps sufficient for IoT. A method to extend link spans up to 1.8 m and the data throughput to 13.44 kbps using different configurations of multi-channel Tx is provided. The peak signal-to-noise ratio of ~14 and 16 dB and the rate of successfully received bits of 99.4 and 81% are measured for the shutter speeds of 200 and 800 µs for a link span of 1 m, respectively