Developing a Multi-Spectral NIR LED-Based Instrument for the Detection of Pesticide Residues Containing Chlorpyrifos-Methyl in Rough, Brown, and Milled Rice.

A recent study showed the potential of the DA Perten 7200 NIR Spectrometer in detecting chlorpyrifos-methyl pesticide residue in rough, brown, and milled rice. However, this instrument is still lab-based and generally suited for point-of-sale testing. To provide a field-deployable version of this technique, an existing light emitting diode (LED)-based instrument that provides discrete NIR wavelength illumination and reflectance spectra over the range of 850-1550 nm was tested.

Generation and Characterization of a Soybean Line with a Vernonia galamensis Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase-1 Gene and a myo-Inositol 1-Phosphate Synthase Knockout Mutation.

Soybean (Glycine max) meal is an important protein source. Soybean meal with lower phytate and oligosaccharides improves meal quality. A single recessive mutation in soybean myo-inositol 1-phosphate synthase (Gm-lpa-TW75-1) confers a seed phenotype with low phytate and increased inorganic phosphate.

Detecting counterfeit antimalarial tablets by near-infrared spectroscopy.

Counterfeit antimalarial drugs are found in many developing countries, but it is challenging to differentiate between genuine and fakes due to their increasing sophistication. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a powerful tool in pharmaceutical forensics, and we tested this technique for discriminating between counterfeit and genuine artesunate antimalarial tablets. Using NIRS, we found that artesunate tablets could be identified as genuine or counterfeit with high accuracy.

Rapid assessment of insect fragments in flour milled from wheat infested with known densities of immature and adult Sitophilus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Milling wheat, Triticum aestivum L., infested with low densities of internal feeding insects can result in flour containing insect fragments. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforces a standard or defect action level stating that a maximum of 75 insect fragments per 50 g of flour is allowed.

Differentiating tobacco budworm and corn earworm using near-infrared spectroscopy.

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to develop a simple and quick technique to differentiate two economically important species, the tobacco budworm, Heliothis cirescens (F.), and corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), which are major pests of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in the southern United States.

Identification of termite species and subspecies of the genus Zootermopsis using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy.

Dampwood termites of the genus Zootermopsis (Isoptera: Termopsidae) are an abundant group of basal termites found in temperate forests of western North America. Three species are currently recognized in the genus and one of these species is subdivided into two subspecies. Although morphological and genetic characters are useful in differentiating among the three species and the two subspecies, respectively, only hydrocarbon analysis can enable differentiation both among the three species and the two subspecies.

Insect fragments in flour: relationship to lesser grain borer (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) infestation level in wheat and rapid detection using near-infrared spectroscopy.

We determined that the number of insect fragments, quantified using the standard flotation method, in flour milled from wheat infested with larvae, pupae, or preemergent adults of the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.), was proportional to infestation level. Wheat infested with a single preemergent adult contributed 28 and 10x as many fragments as wheat infested with a single larva or pupa, respectively.