Search Results (217)

This study evaluates calibration strategies for predicting soluble solids content (SSC) in Ambrosia apples using a low-cost, portable short-wave near-infrared (SW-NIR) spectrometer (640–1050 nm) under interactance acquisitions. Replicate sampling spectral curves exhibited notable variability due to asymmetric illumination, peel color heterogeneity, and probe contact inconsistencies. Regression models were comparatively built on averaged spectra compared with those trained directly on multiply sampled replicate spectra, applying piecewise Savitzky–Golay smoothing and detrending as pretreatment. Variable selection was performed via uninformative variable elimination (UVE) and backward interval partial least squares (BiPLS). Models calibrated on replicate spectra demonstrated superior generalization to unseen replicate measurements, despite slightly higher cross-validation errors. The BiPLS model on replicate spectra achieved the best predictive performance (mean RMSEP = 0.677 °Brix, Rp = 0.796, RPD = 1.656), with improved trueness (lower relative absolute bias) and precision (lower relative standard deviation). For comparison, the BiPLS model on averaged spectra yielded a mean RMSEP = 0.899 °Brix, Rp = 0.593, RPD = 1.25; the replicate-spectra strategy thus reduced the RMSEP by 24.7% and increased Rp and RPD accordingly. This suggests that for low-cost NIR instruments, using replicate sampling spectral modeling combined with interval variable selection can provide better prediction performance and achieve the purpose of on-site sorting in food quality analysis. Full article

Potato quality is determined by multiple physicochemical indicators, including dry matter content (DC), starch content (SC), and color parameters (lightness L*, redness a*, yellowness b*, and browning index (BI)). Conventional spectrometers are costly, non-portable and lack wireless in-situ monitoring, restricting efficient postharvest quality assessment. Chemical methods are destructive and inefficient for field inspection and high-throughput detection. The primary objective of this study was to develop and validate a low-cost wireless 12-channel visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectral sensing system, comprising 6 Vis channels and 6 NIR channels, for the real-time non-destructive prediction of six potato quality indicators. After preprocessing the spectral data with mean normalization, a multiple linear regression (MLR) model was established to optimize the prediction performance of quality parameters. The six indicators evaluated were DC, SC, L*, a*, b*, and BI. Statistical analysis and cross-validation were further conducted to quantitatively evaluate the stability and credibility of the prediction model. Among these, the b* parameter demonstrated the most robust predictive performance, achieving a cross-validated coefficient of determination (R²_CV) of 0.881. The MLR model was integrated into the sensing hardware to realize synchronous data collection and prediction. This study provides a validated, low-cost, wireless solution for rapid potato quality assessment under controlled conditions, offering a potential alternative to conventional spectrometers and destructive chemical methods. Full article

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) is an important source of natural sweeteners. Since its commercial value depends on steviol glycosides, quality assessment primarily involves quantifying these compounds in leaves and shoots. While chromatography is the standard analytical method, it is labor-intensive and time-consuming; it involves multiple processing steps that may cumulatively introduce errors and remains relatively expensive. Although chromatography remains the most accurate method, this exploratory study evaluates the potential of using spectroscopy as an auxiliary method for the approximate assessment of steviol glycoside content. Leaf reflectance spectroscopy could be a simpler and more cost-effective approach. However, relationships between leaf reflectance and steviol glycoside content are indirect and mediated by physiological processes. To account for these indirect dependencies, cumulative UVB exposure was included as an additional feature because it influences both leaf optical properties and plant metabolic processes. A low-cost spectrometer was utilized as the measuring instrument. The study was conducted over a period of three months on 77 S. rebaudiana clones, divided into four groups based on their level of UVB irradiance (control without irradiation, 400, 600, and 800 μW m⁻²). Based on the collected data, linear and polynomial regression, Random Forest, XGBoost, PLSR, and ElasticNetCV models were trained. Cumulative UVB exposure was found to be the most important feature. Of the spectral features, the most informative for assessing the content of steviol glycosides were spectral indicators in the far-red and near-infrared (NIR) ranges. Our results indicate a detectable relationship, with Random Forest being the best-performing model and achieving a moderate predictive performance (R² = 0.66). Despite their limited predictive performance, the models demonstrate that leaf reflectance spectra combined with cumulative UVB exposure contain information related to steviol glycoside content. These findings support further investigation of remote sensing approaches for crop quality assessment. Full article

Soil colour and texture play important roles in identifying archaeological features during excavations, particularly in rescue archaeology where rapid and reliable interpretation is required. This study investigated the application of visible-near-infrared (VIS-NIR) soil spectroscopy for quantitatively characterising cultural heritage materials and archaeological soils on freshly exposed surfaces after topsoil removal during excavation. Surface soil spectra were collected using a portable spectrometer from nine features at a rescue excavation site in Hyeondo-myeon, Republic of Korea. A PCA-based spectral deviation approach was applied to detect deviations of archaeological soils from locally defined natural background spectra. Balanced accuracy values exceeded 0.70 under optimised configurations across all sites, with several sites achieving values above 0.80. Strong statistical discrimination coincided with spatially coherent clustering of elevated anomaly values corresponding to archaeologically identified feature zones. The 400–1000 nm wavelength range, combined with locally calibrated background spectra, yielded the most stable and reproducible performance. The proposed workflow demonstrates that field-based VIS-NIR spectroscopy can provide rapid, quantitative, and spatially interpretable support for archaeological feature identification. By integrating sensor-based spectral characterisation with anomaly mapping, the approach minimises interpretive subjectivity and improves analytical reproducibility in excavation decision-making processes. Full article

Weed interference during early growth stages is a major constraint on sugarcane productivity, yet effective tools for species-specific detection remain limited in tropical agricultural systems. This study evaluated the spectral separability between Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and a dominant weed species, Rottboellia cochinchinensis, to develop an accessible framework for early-stage weed mapping. Multispectral data acquired from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and hyperspectral data obtained from a field spectrometer were utilized. Hyperspectral data were synthesized to reconstruct multispectral bands (UAV image bands) using a regularized linear synthesis model, thereby generating spectral signatures. Spectral separability between sugarcane and Rottboellia cochinchinensis was assessed visually and statistically (Jeffries–Matusita distance). Blue and Green bands provided the strongest differentiation between species, while RedEdge enhanced separability when paired with pigment-sensitive wavelengths. When using vegetation indices based on the near-infrared (NIR) band, the visual appearance of class separation was poor due to the NIR band’s sensitivity to variation in leaf internal structure, canopy architecture, water content, and spectral mixing with the soil background at the early stage of sugarcane. These results were used to differentiate weed coverage from sugarcane. Object-based image analysis (OBIA) outperformed the pixel-based method, achieving higher overall accuracy (0.9038) and a more spatially coherent weed delineation (Kappa = 0.8499). These findings suggest that synthesized spectral signatures of Rottboellia cochinchinensis and sugarcane, combined with targeted spectral indices and OBIA techniques, offer a practical and transferable approach for early detection of Rottboellia cochinchinensis at the farm level. Full article

Effective post-harvest management of avocados is essential for reducing supply chain losses. This requires an accessible, cost-effective method for accurately predicting ripeness under real-world conditions. This study developed a non-destructive framework for predicting avocado ripeness using portable visible–near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectrometers and analyzed the storage temperature dependencies. A 10-point sensory-based ripeness index was correlated with second-derivative reflectance spectra using partial least squares (PLS) regression. To ensure model robustness, we employed repeated 10-fold cross-validation. The broadband PLS model achieved a residual predictive deviation (RPD) of 1.36, while a simplified model using six specific wavelengths (570, 977, 1120, 1161, 1398, and 1655 nm) demonstrated an RPD of 1.43, confirming its feasibility as a preliminary screening tool. Key wavelengths identified were associated with chlorophyll degradation and lipid accumulation. Furthermore, a significant logarithmic relationship (r = 0.9965) was observed between storage temperature (15–35 °C) and the daily ripening rate. Our results suggest that ripening progression is significantly suppressed at temperatures of approximately 12 °C or below. These findings provide quantitative guidelines for distributors to optimize logistics and shelf-life management using portable technology, contributing to the digitalization of consumer-aligned ripeness assessment. Full article

To address the need for rapid evaluation of large batches of Mee rough tea during the acceptance stage, this study aims to explore the feasibility of using portable Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy for preliminary quality screening. The goal is to develop a rapid, non-destructive, and relatively objective assessment method that is applicable to practical acceptance scenarios. This work represents an exploratory proof-of-concept study rather than a finalized industrial grading solution. Spectral data of three reference categories and thirty-six test samples were collected in the wavelength range of 1350–$2500\mathrm{nm}$ using a portable FT-NIR spectrometer. The sample configuration was designed to simulate practical acceptance sampling conditions. The spectra were preprocessed using multiplicative scatter correction, first-order derivative transformation, and mean-centering. Independent principal component analysis (PCA) models were constructed for each reference category to achieve class-wise feature dimensionality reduction, with cumulative explained variance exceeding $95\%$. Distance thresholds were determined using the $3\sigma$ principle based on Euclidean distance and Mahalanobis distance. Classification was performed by distance-based matching between test samples and reference categories. Under optimized matching degree threshold settings of $0.9$ and $0.7$, the two distance models achieved classification accuracies of $86.11\%$ and $83.33\%$, respectively, demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed approach. The main contribution of this study is the application of class-wise PCA combined with distance-based discrimination to the acceptance stage of Mee rough tea. The proposed framework provides a practical exploratory approach for rapid screening and offers a preliminary digital tool to support acceptance decisions. Further validation using larger and more diverse datasets will be necessary prior to large-scale industrial implementation. Full article

Black pepper is the most widely used spice crop globally and has significant economic value, making it a target for economically motivated adulteration. A wide range of organic and inorganic bulking materials has been used as adulterants in black pepper. Development of rapid non-targeted screening methods for use at different stages of the black pepper supply chain is extremely important for the identification and prevention of evolving fraudulent practices. This study has assessed the potential of benchtop Fourier Transform infrared with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), benchtop Fourier Transform near-infrared (FT-NIR), and two handheld NIR spectrometers, coupled with chemometrics, for the discrimination of black pepper (Piper nigrum), pepper from other species and genera (non-Piper nigrum) and a broad range (n = 27) of endogenous and exogenous adulterants. Spiked samples were prepared to imitate pepper adulteration with seven different adulterants at five levels of adulteration (5%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 95% w/w). Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) achieved 100% total prediction accuracy for both FTIR-ATR and FT-NIR in differentiating authentic Piper nigrum and adulterant samples. The handheld microNIR 1700ES resulted in a 91.30% correct classification rate, while the SCiO model achieved 86.96% prediction accuracy. Detection of black pepper adulteration with multiple adulterants was performed using data-driven soft independent modelling of class analogy (DD-SIMCA). The highest performance of the DD-SIMCA model was achieved by FTIR-ATR (100% sensitivity and 100% specificity) followed by FT-NIR (98% sensitivity and 99% specificity). The handheld microNIR 1700ES resulted in 95% sensitivity and 90% specificity. This study demonstrated that FTIR-ATR and FT-NIR, coupled with DD-SIMCA, can effectively detect black pepper adulteration with multiple endogenous and exogenous adulterants. The handheld NIR (microNIR1700ES) clearly demonstrated the potential for rapid and effective verification of Piper nigrum authenticity outside the laboratory. Full article

In this study, the non-destructive determination of pH, total soluble solids (TSS), total acidity (TA), reducing sugars (RS), seed total phenolic content (TPCD), and skin total phenolic content (TPCN) in Ugni Blanc grapes was performed using visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy coupled with chemometric quantitative analysis. Diffuse reflectance spectra in the 400–1507 nm range were measured using a handheld Vis–NIR spectrometer, after which the dataset was partitioned using the SPXY algorithm, accounting for joint X-Y distances. Six spectral preprocessing methods and three modeling algorithms, Partial Least Squares (PLS), Support Vector Machine Regression (SVR), and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), were used to construct quantitative models based on full-wavelength and feature-wavelength data. Feature-based models outperformed full-spectrum models for TA, RS, and TPCN, whereas full-spectrum models performed better for pH, TSS, and TPCD. The optimal models achieved ${\mathit{R}}_{\mathit{p}}^{\mathit{2}}$ values of 0.940, 0.957, 0.913, 0.889, 0.917, and 0.871 and RPD values of 4.074, 4.798, 3.397, 2.998, 2.904, and 2.786, correspondingly. The findings highlight the applicability of Vis/NIR spectroscopy for the accurate and non-destructive prediction of key physicochemical indicators in Ugni Blanc grapes. Full article

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a vital non-destructive analytical tool in the food and aquaculture industries. This study pioneers the application of portable NIR spectrometers for evaluating selenium (Se) content in the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas). We developed quantitative and qualitative models to predict selenium levels in oyster tissue, representing a novel application for monitoring trace elements in marine organisms. Quantitative models were developed using partial least squares (PLS) regression on spectra collected with two portable spectrometers (Micro NIR 1700, Micro PHAZIR RX) and a benchtop FT-NIR instrument, with validation via cross-validation and an independent set. Qualitative models were also constructed to categorize Se content into three levels: 0–1, 1–3, and >3 mg/kg. For quantitative analysis, the Micro NIR 1700 model performed robustly in external validation (RP = 0.932; RMSEP = 0.392; RPD = 2.46). The Micro PHAZIR RX model achieved the highest RC (0.988) and the lowest RMSEC (0.233), yet cross-validation indicated a potential risk of overfitting. In contrast, the FT-NIR instrument yielded the best external predictive ability for powdered samples (RP = 0.954, RPD = 2.60), highlighting its high precision under laboratory conditions. For qualitative discrimination, the Micro PHAZIR RX’s classification module achieved a 100% correct recognition rate (AUC = 0.937). The models based on the Micro NIR 1700 and FT-NIR instruments showed cumulative contribution rates (CCR) of 98.61% and 97.59%, respectively, with high performance indices (PI) of 89.3 and 90.2, confirming their effective discrimination capability. The models established in this study enable the rapid, on-site detection of Se content in oyster samples, underscoring the significant potential of portable NIR spectroscopy for selenium analysis in shellfish. Full article

The use of a portable near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer for detecting sea buckthorn juice SSC has not been explored. In this study, spectral data of 180 juice samples were collected using a portable NIR spectrometer. An SSC prediction model based on a mixture of experts convolutional neural network (MoE-CNN) was proposed. The MoE-CNN model was compared with traditional chemometric models in terms of prediction performance and feature extraction capability. The results showed that detecting the SSC of sea buckthorn juice using a portable NIR spectrometer combined with the MoE-CNN model is feasible. The optimal chemometric model, CARS-PLS, achieved RMSEP and RPD values of 1.42% and 2.67, respectively. The MoE-CNN model outperformed chemometric models and the CNN model, achieving an RMSEP of 1.26% and RPD of 3.02. Compared with CARS-PLSR, MoE-CNN adaptively weighted spectral features through MoE and feature fusion modules, effectively suppressing spectral noise and improving detailed feature extraction. These findings demonstrate that combining a portable NIR spectrometer with MoE-CNN is effective for rapid SSC detection in sea buckthorn juice. This study provides a new approach for the rapid detection of sea buckthorn juice SSC. Full article

Low temperatures have a significant impact on the growth, development, and productivity of cucumber plants. The potential of near-infrared spectroscopy and the aquaphotomics approach for investigating chilling stress was studied in Voreas F1 and Gergana cultivars. Changes in the spectral patterns of cucumber plants were compared with physiological and metabolic data. Voreas plants were unable to survive seven days of low-temperature stress due to a drastic increase in electrolyte leakage and a decrease in the net photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate. Gergana plants survived chilling by preserving cell membrane integrity and photosynthesis efficiency. During chilling treatment, the content of most metabolites in both cultivars was reduced compared to the controls, yet it was much more pronounced in Voreas. We observed an increased accumulation of cinnamic acid on the seventh day only in the Gergana cultivar. A MicroNIR spectrometer was used for in vivo spectral measurements of cotyledons and the first two leaves. Differences in absorption spectra were observed among control, stressed, and recovered plants, across different days of stress, and between the studied cultivars. The most significant differences were in the 1300–1600 nm range, much smaller for Gergana than Voreas. Aquagrams of the two cultivars also reveal differences in their responses to low temperatures and changes in water molecular structure in the leaves. The errors of prediction for the days of chilling by using PLS models were from 0.96 to 1.14 days for independent validation, depending on the spectral data of different leaves used. Near-infrared spectroscopy and aquaphotomics can be used as additional tools for early detection of stress and investigation of low-temperature tolerance in cucumber cultivars. Full article

The accurate and rapid determination of olefin content in gasoline is crucial for fuel quality control. While near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) offers a rapid analytical solution, multiple parameters in the conventional partial least squares regression (PLSR) modeling process rely on the modeler’s subjective judgment. Consequently, the quantitative accuracy of the model is often influenced by the modeler’s experience. To address this limitation, this study developed an integrated adaptive PLSR framework. The methodology incorporates four core adaptive components: automated selection of latent variables based on the rate of decrease in PRESS values, dynamic formation of calibration subsets using Spectral Angle Distance and sample number thresholds, optimization of informative wavelength regions via correlation coefficients, and systematic database cleaning through iterative residual analysis. Applied to 248 gasoline samples, this strategy dramatically enhanced model performance, increasing the coefficient of determination (R²) from 0.7391 to 0.9102 and reducing the root mean square error (RMSE) from 1.51% to 0.866% compared to the global PLSR model. This work demonstrates that the adaptive PLSR framework effectively mitigates spectral nonlinearity and improves predictive robustness, thereby providing a reliable and practical solution for the on-site, rapid monitoring of gasoline quality using handheld NIR spectrometers. Full article

Black tea is a widely consumed beverage whose high economic value has led some producers to illegally add artificial colorants such as Sunset Yellow, Tartrazine, and Ponceau 4R, posing health risks. Although near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy offers a rapid, non-destructive detection method, its use in trace-level colorant detection is limited due to low adulterant concentrations and interference from natural tea pigments. Hence, we developed a rapid, non-destructive method for detecting trace adulteration (from 0.1 to 0.5 g·kg⁻¹) in black tea with artificial colorants using a handheld near-infrared spectrometer. To enhance sensitivity to low-level adulteration, we proposed a novel Spectral Multi-scale Attention Fusion Network (SMAFNet), designed to dynamically integrate multiscale features. SMAFNet consists of spectral preprocessing, multi-scale feature extraction, and cross-scale attention fusion modules. Comparative experiments with traditional machine-learning models demonstrated that SMAFNet achieved superior performance even at low adulteration levels. Sample sets (each including 36 samples) adulterated with Sunset Yellow, Tartrazine, and Ponceau 4R, SMAFNet achieved accuracies of 97.22–100%, F1-scores of 0.9879–1.00, and 100% recall. These findings confirm the feasibility and robustness of combining NIR with SMAFNet for the rapid and discriminative detection of trace colorants in black tea, offering a practical framework for on-site food safety monitoring and quality control. Full article

To address the challenge of nondestructively identifying watercore disease in apples during growth and maturation, a portable device was developed for real-time grading of apple watercore using visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy combined with a one-dimensional quadratic convolutional neural network (1DQCNN). The instrument enables rapid, nondestructive, and accurate detection of apple watercore grades. The AI-OX2000-13 micro-spectrometer is used as the core data acquisition unit, and an ARM processing system is built with the STM32F103VET6 as the main control chip. A 4G wireless communication module enables efficient and stable data transmission between the processor and computer, meeting the real-time detection needs of apple watercore content in orchard environments. To improve the scientific and accurate classification of watercore grades, this paper combines the BiSeNet and RIFE algorithms to construct a 3D model of apple watercore, allowing quantification of the degree of watercore and classification into four levels. Based on this, quadratic convolution operations are incorporated into a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1DCNN), leading to the development of the 1D quadratic convolutional neural network (1DQCNN) model for watercore grade classification. Experimental results indicate that the model achieves a classification accuracy of 98.05%, outperforming traditional methods and conventional CNN models. The designed portable instrument demonstrates excellent accuracy and practicality in real-world applications. Full article