Associations of combined polygenic risk score and glycemic status with atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease and ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether high hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is associated with increases in the risk of cardiovascular disease among individuals with elevated genetic susceptibility. We aimed to investigate the association between HbA1c and atrial fibrillation (AF), coronary artery disease (CAD), and ischemic stroke according to the polygenic risk score (PRS). METHODS: The UK Biobank cohort included 502,442 participants aged 40-70 years who were recruited from 22 assessment centers across the United Kingdom from 2006 to 2010. This study included 305,605 unrelated individuals with available PRS and assessed new-onset AF, CAD, and ischemic stroke. The participants were divided into tertiles based on the validated PRS for each outcome. Within each PRS tertiles, the risks of incident events associated with HbA1c levels were investigated and compared with HbA1c < 5.7% and low PRS. Data were analyzed from November 2022 to May 2023. RESULTS: Of 305,605 individuals, 161,605 (52.9%) were female, and the mean (SD) age was 56.6 (8.1) years. During a median follow-up of 11.9 (interquartile range 11.1-12.6) years, the incidences of AF, CAD, and ischemic stroke were 4.6, 2.9 and 1.1 per 100 person-years, respectively. Compared to individuals with HbA1c < 5.7% and low PRS, individuals with HbA1c ≥ 6.5% and high PRS had a 2.67-times higher risk for AF (hazard ratio [HR], 2.67; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.43-2.94), 5.71-times higher risk for CAD (HR, 5.71; 95% CI, 5.14-6.33) and 2.94-times higher risk for ischemic stroke (HR, 2.94; 95% CI, 2.47-3.50). In the restricted cubic spline models, while a U-shaped trend was observed between HbA1c and the risk of AF, dose-dependent increases were observed between HbA1c and the risk of CAD and ischemic stroke regardless PRS tertile. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the nature of the dose-dependent relationship between HbA1c levels and cardiovascular disease in individuals with different PRS is outcome-specific. This adds to the evidence that PRS may play a role together with glycemic status in the development of cardiovascular disease.

Machine learning predicting myopic regression after corneal refractive surgery using preoperative data and fundus photography.

PURPOSE: Myopic regression after surgery is the most common long-term complication of refractive surgery, but it is difficult to identify myopic regression without long-term observation. This study aimed to develop machine learning models to identify high-risk patients for refractive regression based on preoperative data and fundus photography. METHODS: This retrospective study assigned subjects to the training (n = 1606 eyes) and validation (n = 403 eyes) datasets with chronological data splitting. Machine learning models with ResNet50 (for image analysis) and XGBoost (for integration of all variables and fundus photography) were developed based on subjects who underwent corneal refractive surgery. The primary outcome was the predictive performance for the presence of myopic regression at 4 years of follow-up examination postoperatively. RESULTS: By integrating all factors and fundus photography, the final combined machine learning model showed good performance to predict myopic regression of more than 0.5 D (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [ROC-AUC], 0.753; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.710-0.793). The performance of the final model was better than the single ResNet50 model only using fundus photography (ROC-AUC, 0.673; 95% CI, 0.627-0.716). The top-five most important input features were fundus photography, preoperative anterior chamber depth, planned ablation thickness, age, and preoperative central corneal thickness. CONCLUSION: Our machine learning algorithm provides an efficient strategy to identify high-risk patients with myopic regression without additional labor, cost, and time. Surgeons might benefit from preoperative risk assessment of myopic regression, patient counseling before surgery, and surgical option decisions.

Design of a High-Efficiency DC-DC Boost Converter for RF Energy Harvesting IoT Sensors.

In this paper, an optimal design of a high-efficiency DC-DC boost converter is proposed for RF energy harvesting Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. Since the output DC voltage of the RF-DC rectifier for RF energy harvesting varies considerably depending on the RF input power, the DC-DC boost converter following the RF-DC rectifier is required to achieve high power conversion efficiency (PCE) in a wide input voltage range. Therefore, based on the loss analysis and modeling of an inductor-based DC-DC boost converter, an optimal design method of design parameters, including inductance and peak inductor current, is proposed to obtain the maximum PCE by minimizing the total loss according to different input voltages in a wide input voltage range. A high-efficiency DC-DC boost converter for RF energy harvesting applications is designed using a 65 nm CMOS process. The modeled total losses agree well with the circuit simulation results and the proposed loss modeling results accurately predict the optimal design parameters to obtain the maximum PCE. Based on the proposed loss modeling, the optimally designed DC-DC boost converter achieves a power conversion efficiency of 96.5% at a low input voltage of 0.1 V and a peak efficiency of 98.4% at an input voltage of 0.4 V.

Non-Destructive Detection of Abnormal Chicken Eggs by Using an Optimized Spectral Analysis System.

Environmental pressures, such as temperature and light intensity, food, and genetic factors, can cause chicken eggs to develop abnormalities. The common types of internal egg abnormalities include bloody and damaged egg yolk. Spectrometers have been recently used in real-time abnormal egg detection research. However, there are very few studies on the optimization of measurement systems. This study aimed to establish optimum parameters for detecting of internal egg abnormalities (bloody and damaged-yolk eggs) using visible and near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectrometry (192-1110 nm range) and multivariate data analysis. The detection performance using various system parameters, such as the types of light sources, the configuration of the light, and sensor positions, was investigated. With the help of collected data, a partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model was developed to classify normal and abnormal eggs. The highest classification accuracy for the various system parameters was 98.7%. Three band selection methods, such as weighted regression coefficient (WRC), sequential feature selection (SFS), and successive projection algorithm (SPA) were used for further model optimization, to reduce the spectral bands from 1028 to less than 7. In conclusion the results indicate that the types of light sources and the configuration design of the sensor and illumination affect the detection accuracy for abnormal eggs.

An Energy-Efficient UWB Transmitter with Wireless Injection Locking for RF Energy-Harvesting Sensors.

An ultralow-power ultrawideband (UWB) transmitter with an energy-efficient injection-locked radio frequency (RF) clock harvester that generates a carrier from an RF signal is proposed for RF energy-harvesting Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensor applications. The energy-efficient RF clock harvester based on the injection-locked ring oscillator (ILRO) is proposed to achieve optimal locking range and minimum input sensitivity to obtain an injection-locked 450 MHz clock in ultralow-power operation. A current-starved inverter-based delay stage is adopted that allows delay adjustment by bias voltage to minimize dynamic current consumption while maintaining a constant delay regardless of changes in process, supply voltage, and temperature (PVT). To minimize static current consumption, a UWB transmitter based on a digital-based UWB pulse generator and a pulse-driven switching drive amplifier is proposed. The proposed injection-locked RF clock harvester achieves the best RF input sensitivity of -34 dBm at a power consumption of 2.03 µW, enabling energy-efficient clock harvesting from low RF input power. In ultralow-power operation, a 23.8% locking range is achieved at the RF injection power of -15 dBm to cope with frequency changes due to PVT variations. The proposed UWB transmitter with RF clock harvester achieves the lowest energy consumption per pulse with an average power consumption of 97.03 µW and an energy consumption of 19.41 pJ/pulse, enabling operation with the energy available in RF energy-harvesting applications.

Quality comparison of retorted Samgyetang made from white semi-broilers, commercial broilers, Korean native chickens, and old laying hens.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the quality characteristics of retorted Samgyetang (Korean ginseng chicken soup) made from white semi-broilers (WSB; Ross× Hyline white, 3 weeks old), commercial broilers (CB; Ross, 4 weeks old), Korean native chickens (KNC; Hanhyup-3-ho, 12 weeks old) and old laying hens (OLH; Hyline white, 72 weeks old) and to explore the possibility of using the carcasses of KNCs and OLHs as raw material for product diversification. METHODS: Raw and cooked meat quality, fatty acid composition and consumer acceptance were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the chicken breeds, OLH and KNC showed a higher shear force value than WSB and CB due to high insoluble collagen contents. However, the meat of KNC was more tender than that of OLH. The meat of OLH was characterized by the lowest moisture content and highest crude fat content. The meat of KNC was characterized by a higher proportion of saturated fatty acids, α-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid than that of OLH. The meat of OLH showed the highest content of unsaturated fatty acid, particularly linoleic acid, in its thigh meat. Electronic nose readings revealed that the meat aroma pattern was clearly different across breeds. OLH had the lowest overall acceptance score, while no differences were found in flavor, texture, juiciness and appearance among WSB, CB, and KNC. CONCLUSION: KNC shows potential as raw material for Samgyetang, while additional preprocessing methods, such as tenderization and fat removal, are required for the utilization of OLH as raw material for retorted Samgyetang.

The effect of finishing diet supplemented with methionine/lysine and methionine/α-tocopherol on performance, carcass traits and meat quality of Hanwoo steers.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the effects of diets with and without supplements of methionine/lysine (met/lys) and methionine/α-tocopherol (met/α-tocopherol) on the performance, carcass traits and meat quality of Hanwoo steers. METHODS: A total of 21 Hanwoo steers were divided into three different groups. Each group consisted of 7 animals that received different dietary treatments for 120 days as follows: a control (C) diet composed of a basal diet with 74% total digestible nutrient and 12% crude protein; treatment 1 (T1) composed of a basal diet enriched with methionine 69%+lysine 31%; and treatment (T2) composed of a basal diet enriched with methionine 84.65%+α-tocopherol 15.35%. Daily supplementation was given using the top-dressing method (20 g/animal). RESULTS: The met/lys groups yielded a longissimus lumborum with increased water holding capacity (p<0.01) and lower shear force value (p<0.05). Dietary met/lys did not have an adverse effect on the animal performance and carcass traits. Instead, these supplements contributed significantly to the higher protein content compared to the control diet (p<0.05). Myristic acid (C14:0) was the only fatty acid affected by the supplementation. While the met/α-tocopherol group led to significantly higher protein and oxymyoglobin contents during storage (p<0.05). It also contributed significantly to the lower shear force value and 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances score during storage (p<0.05) compared to the control and treatment 1 since the initial storage day. The met/α-tocopherol diet also yielded meat with a redder color (p<0.05) after 3 days of storage. However, it did not significantly contribute to the fatty acid profiles of Hanwoo steers. CONCLUSION: Met/lys supplementation resulted in higher protein scores, water holding capacity and lower shear force scores. While met/α-tocopherol supplementation contributes to the production of redder meat, reduces lipid oxidation, production of more tender meat and increases the content of protein and oxymyoglobin percentage.

Comparison of meat quality, fatty acid composition and aroma volatiles of dry-aged beef from Hanwoo cows slaughtered at 60 or 80 months old.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the quality of dry-aged beef from cull Hanwoo cows slaughtered at 60 or 80 months old. METHODS: A total of eight cull Hanwoo carcasses with a quality grade of 3 (low-grade) were selected and divided into two age groups: 63.5±2.5 months old (n = 4) and 87.8±4.5 months old (n = 4). Whole longissimus thoracis et lumborum from the 11th rib to the last lumbar vertebrae, including the back fat, was removed from the carcass at 24 h postmortem and aged for 50 days in darkness at a temperature of 2°C±1°C, a relative humidity of 85% and an air flow of 2 m/s. The sampling was performed aseptically after 0, 20, 24, 40, and 50 days of aging. RESULTS: Regardless of the aging period, aging increased the lightness (p<0.05), redness (p<0.05) and yellowness (p<0.05) at initial blooming (90 min after slicing) and the overall acceptance (p<0.05). No further tenderization effect was found after 20 days of aging, but aging for 50 days significantly increased the lipid oxidation (p<0.05). The generation of aroma volatiles in the roast steak from aged samples was higher (p<0.05) than that of non-aged samples. No significant effect of age at slaughter was found on the color, pH, water-holding capacity, cooking loss, shear force value, bacterial counts, volatile basic nitrogen, consumer acceptance, lipid oxidation, fatty acid composition or aroma volatiles. CONCLUSION: The quality of dry-aged beef obtained from cull Hanwoo cows slaughtered at either 60 or 80 months old with similar quality grade was comparable and extending dry aging for more than 40 days is not recommended considering the costs and further lipid oxidation.

Microdynamics and arrest of coarsening during spinodal decomposition in thermoreversible colloidal gels.

Coarsening and kinetic arrest of colloidal systems undergoing spinodal decomposition (SD) is a conserved motif for forming hierarchical, bicontinuous structures. Although the thermodynamic origins of SD in colloids are widely known, the microstructural processes responsible for its coarsening and associated dynamics en route to arrest remain elusive. To better elucidate the underlying large-scale microdynamical processes, we study a colloidal system with moderate-range attractions which displays characteristic features of arrested SD, and study its dynamics during coarsening through a combination of differential dynamic microscopy and real-space tracking. Using these recently developed imaging techniques, we reveal directly that the coarsening arises from collective dynamics of dense domains, which undergo slow, intermittent, and ballistic motion. These collective motions indicate interfacial effects to be the driving force of coarsening. The nature of the gelation enables control of the arrested length scale of coarsening by the depths of quenching into the spinodal regime, which we demonstrate to provide an effective means to control the elasticity of colloidal gels.

Discovery of Tyk2 inhibitors via the virtual site-directed fragment-based drug design.

In this study, we synthesized compound 12 with potent Tyk2 inhibitory activity from FBDD study and carried out a cell-based assay for Tyk2/STAT3 signaling activation upon IFNα5 stimulation. Compound 12 completely suppressed the IFNα5-mediated Tyk2/STAT3 signaling pathway as well as the basal levels of pSTAT3. Stimulation with IFNα/ß leads to the tyrosine phosphorylation of the JAK1 and Tyk2 receptor-associated kinases with subsequent STATs activation, transmitting signals from the cell surface receptor to the nucleus. In conclusion, the potency of compound 12 to interrupt the signal transmission of Tyk2/STAT3 appeared to be equivalent or superior to that of the reference compound.

Occurrence of Legacy and New Persistent Organic Pollutants in Avian Tissues from King George Island, Antarctica.

Legacy and new persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), Dechlorane Plus (DPs) and related compounds (Dechloranes), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), were analyzed in avian tissue samples from King George Island, Antarctica. The avian species consisted of the Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua), the Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), the South polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki), and the Brown skua (Stercorarius antarcticus). HBCDs were detected in all samples and ranged from 1.67-713 pg/g-lipid. In the penguin samples, the concentrations of PCNs ranged from 0.69-2.07 ng/g-lipid, whereas those in the skua samples ranged from 7.41-175 ng/g-lipid. The levels of Dechloranes ranged from 0.60-1.30 ng/g-lipid in the penguin samples and from 6.57-47.4 ng/g-lipid in the skua samples. The concentrations and congener distributions of OCPs and PCBs were similar to the results of previous reports. The three new POPs were detected in all samples, and this study was one of the first reports on the occurrence of these pollutants in the Antarctic biota. Because Antarctica is one of the most pristine places on Earth, the detection of new POPs in the Antarctic birds, especially penguins, is direct evidence of the long-range transport of pollutants. Furthermore, the concentration ratios of the penguin to the skua samples (BMFs-p) were greater than 1 in most legacy and new POPs, and the BMFs-p values of the new POPs were comparable to those of some OCPs, suggesting a possibility of biomagnification. Despite the small sample size, the results of this study identified POP contamination of the Antarctic avian species and long-range transport and biomagnification of HBCDs, Dechloranes, and PCNs.

Partitioning behavior of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants among feto-maternal bloods and tissues.

Heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including Pb, Cd, T-Hg, MeHg, PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PBDEs, PCNs, and PBDD/Fs, were analyzed in 20 paired samples of cord blood, maternal blood, maternal urine, and placenta. The samples were collected from pregnant mothers and neonates from South Korea in 2010. The distribution of heavy metals among the samples varied with their physicochemical characteristics. The concentrations of Pb and Hg in the maternal and the cord blood samples were significantly correlated each other, implying efficient transplacental transport (TPT). Cd and Hg were accumulated in the placenta, forming protein conjugates, and T-Hg was higher in the cord blood samples than the maternal blood samples due to the binding affinity of Hg with fetal proteins. POPs generally showed the highest concentrations in the maternal serum samples, and the POPs levels in the cord serum and the placenta samples were dependent on the degree of halogenation. The TPT of POPs was seemingly related to lipoprotein transportation. Some PBDE congeners, however, showed their highest concentrations in the cord serum samples, suggesting an additional TPT mechanism. This is the first study to detect PCNs and PBDD/Fs in the cord serum samples, showing that the PCN levels were comparable to other POPs. According to the principal component analysis (PCA) results of the contaminant levels, POPs and heavy metals showed significantly different characteristics, whereas PBDEs had an intermediate attribute. Despite the limited number of participants, the comprehensive analysis of trace contaminants in the paired sample sets enabled us to infer the distribution and TPT mechanism of various contaminants.

The discovery of aurora kinase inhibitor by multi-docking-based virtual screening.

We report the discovery of aurora kinase inhibitor using the fragment-based virtual screening by multi-docking strategy. Among a number of fragments collected from eMololecules, we found four fragment molecules showing potent activity (>50% at 100 µM) against aurora kinase. Based on the explored fragment scaffold, we selected two compounds in our synthesized library and validated the biological activity against Aurora kinase.

Enzymatic hydrolyzation of Cordyceps militaris mushroom extracts and its effect on spent hen chicken.

OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed to investigate the effect of fresh and dried hydrolyzed Cordyceps militaris (CM) mushroom with proteolytic enzymes; bromelain (CMB), flavorzyme (CMF), and mixture of bromelain: flavorzyme (CMBF) on quality properties of spent hen chicken. METHODS: Mushroom extract (CME) were combined with three proteolytic enzyme mixtures that had different peptidase activities; stem bromelain (CMB), flavorzyme (CMF), and mixture of stem bromelain:flavorzyme (CMBF) at (1:1). The effect of these hydrolysates was investigated on spent hen breast meat via dipping marination. RESULTS: Hydrolyzation positively alters functional properties of CM protease. in which bromelain hydrolyzed group (CMB) displayed the highest proteolytic activity at 4.57 unit/mL. The antioxidant activity had a significant increment from 5.32% in CME to 61.79% in CMB. A significantly higher emulsion stability index and emulsification activity index compared to CME were another result from hydrolyzation (p<0.05). Texture properties along with the shear force value and myofibrillar fragmentation index were notably improved under CMB and CMBF in fresh condition. Marination with CM mushroom protease that was previously hydrolyzed with enzymes was proven to also increase the nucleotide compounds, indicated by higher adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) and inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP) in hydrolysate groups (p<0.05). The concentration of both total and insoluble collagen remained unchanged, meaning less effect from CM protease. CONCLUSION: This study suggested the hydrolyzation of CM protease with bromelain or a mixture of bromelain:flavourzyme to significantly improve functional properties of protease and escalate the taste-related nucleotide compounds and texture profiles from spent hen breast meat.

Air-soil cycling of oxygenated, nitrated and parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in source and receptor areas.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their oxygenated and nitrated derivatives, OPAHs and NPAHs, are semivolatile air pollutants which are distributed and cycling regionally. Subsequent to atmospheric deposition to and accumulation in soils they may re-volatilise, a secondary source which is understudied. We studied the direction of air-soil mass exchange fluxes of 12 OPAHs, 17 NPAHs, 25 PAHs and one alkylated PAH in two rural environments being influenced by the pollutant concentrations in soil and air, by season, and by land cover. The OPAHs and NPAHs in samples of topsoil, of ambient air particulate and gas phases and in the gas-phase equilibrated with soil were analysed by GC-APCI-MS/MS. The pollutants soil burdens show a pronounced seasonality, a winter maximum for NPAHs and PAHs and a summer maximum for OPAHs. One order of magnitude more OPAH and parent PAH are found stored in forest soil than in nearby grassland soil. Among a number of 3-4 ring PAHs, the OPAHs benzanthrone and 6H-benzo(c,d)pyren-6-one, and the NPAHs 1- and 2-nitronaphthalene, 9-nitrophenanthrene and 7-nitrobenz(a)anthracene are found to re-volatilise from soils at a rural background site in central Europe in summer. At a receptor site in northern Europe, net deposition of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) prevails and re-volatilisation occurs only sporadic. Re-volatilisation of a number of PACs, including strong mutagens, from soils in summer and even in winter indicates that long-range atmospheric transport of primary PAC emissions from central Europe to receptor areas might be enhanced by secondary emissions from soils.

Identification and characterization of epoxide hydrolase activity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria for biocatalytic resolution of racemic styrene oxide and styrene oxide derivatives.

A novel epoxide hydrolase (EHase) from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading bacteria was identified and characterized. EHase activity was identified in four strains of PAH-degrading bacteria isolated from commercial gasoline and oil-contaminated sediment based on their growth on styrene oxide and its derivatives, such as 2,3- and 4-chlorostyrene oxides, as a sole carbon source. Gordonia sp. H37 exhibited high enantioselective hydrolysis activity for 4-chlorostyrene oxide with an enantiomeric ratio of 27. Gordonia sp. H37 preferentially hydrolyzed the (R)-enantiomer of styrene oxide derivatives resulting in the preparation of a (S)-enantiomer with enantiomeric excess greater than 99.9 %. The enantioselective EHase activity was identified and characterized in various PAH-degrading bacteria, and whole cell Gordonia sp. H37 was employed as a biocatalyst for preparing enantiopure (S)-styrene oxide derivatives.

Robot Technology for Pork and Beef Meat Slaughtering Process: A Review.

Recently, many slaughterhouses have begun to introduce automation and quality evaluation sensing equipment to the slaughter processing line to overcome insufficient human resources, improve the efficiency of the slaughter process, and standardize meat quality. Various processing instruments and sensing technologies may be used depending on the livestock to be slaughtered, but a standardized process design for a smart slaughterhouse remains to be established. Slaughterhouses are becoming more industrialized, leveraging data collection and analysis to drive growth and increase production. Therefore, slaughterhouse automation is essential for meeting production demand, and an optimized design suitable for the size of each company is required to maximize economical equipment and systems. We introduce robot technology used in the slaughterhouse and detail the visceral laparotomy, carcass preprocessing, and deboning robot technology. In this study, we examine slaughterhouse automation equipment and technologies, focusing on optimizing the processing lines, the direction of application, and the hygiene of robot technique. We hope this review will provide insight into slaughterhouse automation for decision making in the slaughter industry.

Associations of high-normal blood pressure and impaired fasting glucose with atrial fibrillation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of high-normal blood pressure (BP) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) with the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in two cohorts. METHODS: The Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening (K-NHIS-HealS, 2002-2003, follow-up until 2013) Study and the UK Biobank (2007-2010, follow-up until 2021) were evaluated. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to evaluate the associations of high-normal BP and IFG with incident AF. RESULTS: In the K-NHIS-HealS and the UK Biobank, 2346 and 5314 incident AF events were recorded during the mean follow-up of 7.4 and 11.8 years. The adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for AF in the Korean and UK cohorts were 1.11 (1.02 to 1.21) and 1.07 (1.01 to 1.13) in individuals with high-normal BP; and 1.14 (1.04 to 1.25) and 1.10 (1.01 to 1.20) in individuals with IFG, respectively. The AF risk showed a dose-response relationship with BP and fasting blood glucose level. The risk of incident AF was increased by the combination of high-normal BP and IFG. CONCLUSIONS: In healthy individuals, high-normal BP and IFG were important risk factors for AF. When high-normal BP and IFG were combined, the risk of new-onset AF was significantly increased. These findings may suggest that lifestyle interventions for high-normal BP and IFG should be considered to reduce the risk of AF.

Proximate Content Monitoring of Black Soldier Fly Larval (Hermetia illucens) Dry Matter for Feed Material using Short-Wave Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging.

Edible insects are gaining popularity as a potential future food source because of their high protein content and efficient use of space. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are noteworthy because they can be used as feed for various animals including reptiles, dogs, fish, chickens, and pigs. However, if the edible insect industry is to advance, we should use automation to reduce labor and increase production. Consequently, there is a growing demand for sensing technologies that can automate the evaluation of insect quality. This study used short-wave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging to predict the proximate composition of dried BSFL, including moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and crude ash content. The larvae were dried at various temperatures and times, and images were captured using an SWIR camera. A partial least-squares regression (PLSR) model was developed to predict the proximate content. The SWIR-based hyperspectral camera accurately predicted the proximate composition of BSFL from the best preprocessing model; moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and crude ash content were predicted with high accuracy, with R2 values of 0.89 or more, and root mean square error of prediction values were within 2%. Among preprocessing methods, mean normalization and max normalization methods were effective in proximate prediction models. Therefore, SWIR-based hyperspectral cameras can be used to create automated quality management systems for BSFL.

Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging for online measurement of the viability detection of naturally aged watermelon seeds.

The viability status of seeds before sowing is important to farmers as it allows them to make yield predictions. Monitoring the seed quality in a rapid and nondestructive manner may create a perfect solution, especially for industrial sorting applications. However, current offline laboratory-based strategies employed for the monitoring of seed viability are time-consuming and thus cannot satisfy industrial needs where there is a substantial number of seeds to be analyzed. In this study, we describe a prototype online near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging system that can be used for the rapid detection of seed viability. A wavelength range of 900-1700 nm was employed to obtain spectral images of three different varieties of naturally aged watermelon seed samples. The partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model was employed for real-time viability prediction for seed samples moving through a conveyor unit at a speed of 49 mm/sec. A suction unit was further incorporated to develop the online system and it was programmatically controlled to separate the detected viable seeds from nonviable ones. For an external validation sample set showed classification accuracy levels of 91.8%, 80.7%, and 77.8% in relation to viability for the three varieties of watermelon seed with healthy seedling growth. The regression coefficients of the classification model distinguished some chemical differences in viable and nonviable seed which was verified by the chromatographic analysis after the detection of the proposed online system. The results demonstrated that the developed online system with the viability prediction model has the potential to be used in the seed industry for the quality monitoring of seeds.